


Hanakko October: 31 Days of a Rarepair Nobody Asked For

by SailorPortia



Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: Angst, But not really comfort, Eavesdropping, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Fictober, Fictober 2018, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Jealousy, Napping, Revenge, Side Barbalotte, Slow Burn, Trust Issues, Truth or Dare, theatre gays
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-01
Updated: 2018-11-07
Packaged: 2019-07-23 16:22:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 36,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16162520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SailorPortia/pseuds/SailorPortia
Summary: Wait... Hanakko? Hannah and Akko? Is that a thing? Does anyone even ship that?Well, I have 31 days to change your mind.Fictober 2018 prompts





	1. Day One: Can You Feel This?

"Can you feel this?"

Hannah pressed her fingers on Akko's ankle with delicacy of one not accustomed to or interested in taking care of people. She had found Akko at the edge of the woods, left in a miserable pile after a flying mishap. The accident-prone witch had been clutching at her ankle, so Hannah pushed the other girl's hands out of the way, ordered her to stay still, and began applying her own limited medical magic knowledge—most of which came from observing Diana.

"Ow! Of course I can feel that!" Akko yelped. "Are you trying to stick your fingers through the bone?"

"Don't tempt me," Hannah grumbled, moving her fingers around the joint.

"Watch it!" Akko crossed her arms over her chest. "You're awful at this. I'd be better off on my own!"

"Is that so?" Hannah huffed. "I'm _sooo_ sorry. If you want a pro to do it instead, you can just wait around until Diana shows up." She stood up and turned around, pretending that she was going to leave Akko to her fate.

"Hey! Don't leave me here, you overgrown carrot!"

"I'll tell someone you're out here if I remember," Hannah said over her shoulder and started walking away.

Akko screwed her face up indignantly. Accepting help from Hannah England was bad enough; asking for it—begging for it—practically made her stomach turn. But she hardly had a choice in the matter. She swallowed her pride.

"Hannah, please. Come back and help me."

Hannah stopped and smirked, wiping the grin off her face before turning back around. "I guess it can't be helped. Diana and the professors have better things to do than deal with the likes of you."

"Unlike you, apparently."

"What was that?"

"Nothing!"

Hannah resumed looking Akko over and applied healing magic on her injuries, all minor and well-within her capabilities. _After all,_ Hannah thought, _I'm a full-fledged witch unlike someone I could mention._ Not that she particularly minded Akko's magical ineptitude at the moment; she had a golden opportunity to gloat and hold the incident over the other witch.

Hannah stood up and looked over her work. "That should be it. Try standing up."

"You're not going to kiss it better first?" Akko asked playfully.

Hannah scoffed. "As if! My lips aren't going anywhere near you, much less anywhere near your feet."

"Awww," Akko groaned. "I was hoping you'd get all embarrassed."

"W-what?"

"I wanted to see if it was possible to get you flustered," she explained. "Like, would your face get as red as your hair?"

Hannah made an indescribable noise of frustration. "You're impossible." She spun on her heel before Akko could see the blush creeping over her cheeks.

"Hey, wait for me!" Akko picked up her broom and raced after Hannah. "I've got a question!"

Hannah ignored her, but that was hardly enough to stop the most hard-headed student at Luna Nova. She caught up and walked at the redhead's side.

"How did you even find me?" she asked. "What are you doing out here without Barbara?"

Hannah scowled. "I saw you sneaking away with a broom and I decided to investigate," she said hastily. "You're always getting up to trouble."

"Oh, I get it," Akko said slyly. "You don't need to hide it."

"H-hide what?"

Akko grinned smugly. "You were snooping on my progress as a flier. Worried that I'm gonna catch up to you? You can bet on it."

Hannah rolled her eyes. "In your dreams."

"Actually, I'm still confused why Barbara isn't with you," Akko added. "I thought you two were practically married."

"Moron."

"Ooh, is there someone else you like?" Akko needled. "You can tell me. I promise I won't spread it around the school." Her tone suggested the exact opposite. "Lemme guess, it's Andrew Hanbridge."

Hannah aimed a kick at Akko's formerly injured ankle, which Akko successfully dodged.

"Hey! What was that for!?"

"Just checking to see if it was healed properly. You're as slippery as ever, Atsuko Kagari."


	2. Day Two: “People like you have no imagination”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akko challenges Hannah to perform magic like Chariot's, which Hannah insulted. A curious Diana supervises them.

“People like you have no imagination,” Akko said, her voice heavy with disdain and condescending pity.

Hannah pointed her wand at Akko. _"Excuuuse_ me. Some of us don't exercise our imagination by day-dreaming in class."

"It's improper to point your wand at someone," Diana said calmly as she reviewed a magical theory book.

The three witches had appropriated an empty classroom for the purpose of practicing magic. Diana sat in the front row, keeping watch over her classmates to ensure that no magical mishaps occurred, or in the event that one did she would be there to rectify it.

Under normal circumstances Akko would rather be caught dead than spend time with Hannah, but the redhead had committed an unforgivable crime: insulting Shiny Chariot. What came next was a challenge for Hannah to come up with a routine of showy magic even half as impressive as Chariot's.

Hannah let her wand arm drop to her side and suppressed the urge to stomp her foot in annoyance. "What's the point of this, anyway? This is a total waste of my time."

"You agreed to this challenge, Hannah," Diana said. "You can stop at any time you like." She eyed Hannah over the top of her book, her eyebrow gently arching.

Akko frowned. "I can't let her get away with talking that way about Shiny Chariot! You agree, don't you, Diana?"

Diana blinked slowly at Akko. "That's a matter for the two of you sort out."

"Awww, Diana!"

Hannah rolled her eyes. _Why would Diana care about that clown Shiny Chariot?_ She didn't understand why Diana was enabling Akko. It was almost as if Luna Nova's star student was siding with the worst student the school had ever seen. Perhaps she thought Hannah had gone too far by insulting a fellow witch, even if the witch in question was as lowly regarded as Chariot. There had to be something behind those meaningful looks Diana kept giving her.

"I don't know what you want me to do," Hannah said. "All you want is something showy, right? What am I doing wrong?"

Akko shook her head. "You're just doing basic spells. They're stale. They aren't original at all. You need to put a little of yourself into them."

"You mean like how your metamorphosis magic is so bad your little ponytail stays?"

"Hey, I've been told my little ponytail looks cute!"

"Who said that, your mother?"

Diana cleared her throat loudly. "Perhaps Hannah would understand better if you demonstrated for her."

"That's a great idea, Diana!" Akko said brightly. She skipped over to Hannah's side (without noticing that Hannah flinched at her proximity) and extended her wand.

She unleashed a flurry of spells, brilliant bursts of light and a symphony of spectacular sounds. Phantasmagorical projections phased from one form to another with protean proficiency. Akko herself metamorphosized into her familiar mouse form and ran on the backs of several Asian dragons which flew through the air, twisting and turning as Akko jumped from one to another. The dragons and the other magical projections met at a single point and disappeared in a flash. Mouse-Akko landed on Hannah's shoulder and took a bow.

"Amazed aren't you?" she said smugly.

Hannah was amazed, but not necessarily at the magic. She hadn't realized that Akko's magical abilities had improved. In her quest to become like her idol, the commoner witch had advanced her magical skill beyond what Hannah could've expected of her. She was surprised. But Diana wasn't. The heiress had no doubt been aware of Akko's improvement, which only aroused Hannah's curiosity more. _Did Diana help her? What's going on between them?_

Akko's voice shook her from her conflicted thoughts. "You just need to do something like that. I bet you can't do even a tenth as well as Chariot!"

Hannah groaned. _Akko's right,_ she realized. Her own magic was by the books. She wouldn't even know where to begin. "I concede. Your magic is amazing. Can I leave now?"

Akko giggled in a self-satisfied way. "Can't keep up, huh? I guess I'll be merciful and let you go without embarrassing yourself any more."

Hannah pinched Akko's tail between two fingers, lifted her off her own shoulder, and held her upside down in front of her face. "Don't get uppity, klutz. You still have a lot to learn about being a witch."

"Sore loser."

Diana walked over and rescued Akko from Hannah's clutches, setting her down on the floor. "If that will be all, I suggest you get a start on your homework, Akko. I understand that you have an overdue assignment from Professor Finnelan..."

In a poof of smoke, Akko transformed back to normal. "Oh snap. She's gonna skin me alive if I don't turn it in tomorrow." She rushed to the door, practically tripping over herself in her haste. "Seeya later, Diana!" she said with a wave. Her only goodbye to Hannah was a stuck out tongue. Hannah returned the gesture.

Diana chuckled at the exchange. "I hope you learned something about yourself, Hannah."

"What?" Hannah asked, cocking her head in confusion. "That I need to work on my magic? It's not like Akko's weird magic has any practical applications."

"I meant that you're easily distracted."

"Huh?"

The corner of Diana's mouth twitched. "I seem to recall that the issue was Chariot's magic, not Akko's. You conceded to Akko rather than apologizing for insulting Chariot. Curious how easily both of you forgot that."

Hannah felt heat rising in her face. "I d-d-don't know what you're talking about. It got her to give up, didn't it?"

Diana chuckled again. "I hope you learned something about yourself today," she repeated, and turned sharply, her hair flaring out behind her.

Hannah hurried after her roommate. "Hey! Diana! Tell me what that means! What does that have anything to do with Akko?"


	3. Day Three: How can I trust you?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akko wants to nap but doesn't trust Hannah enough to nap around her, which annoys Hannah for some reason...

"How can I trust you?" Akko asked, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hannah demanded, genuinely offended.

Akko pouted. "How do I know you're not going to mess with me? I wouldn't put it past you."

The redhead rolled her eyes. "You're being paranoid."

"Excuse me for not trusting you enough to nap in front of you."

Hannah and Akko had been working on their astrology assignment—Professor Ursula had paired them up with each other for some reason. Astrology was one of the few subjects at which Akko had excelled, so she finished first. Her attention span waned while Hannah worked on her half of the assignment. Before long, Akko was too bored to stay awake.

"I want to nap," Akko whined.

"What's stopping you?" Hannah asked, looking away from her homework to quirk her eyebrow at her partner.

Akko grumbled. "I can't just nap outside. I'm not Amanda."

The unlikely pair had decided to do their shared assignment in an out of the way spot rather than somewhere like the library where they'd be seen together. At the outskirts of the school's grounds they'd found a bench that had seen better days. They sat as far away from each other as possible, but Hannah figured there was enough room for Akko to lie down.

"Just curl up into a ball or whatever," Hannah said dismissively, turning back to her assignment. "The bench can't be that uncomfortable."

"Sleeping in public isn't a good idea."

"That doesn't stop you in class," Hannah sniped. "Are you worried someone's going to carry you off or something? It's not like you'll be alone."

Akko crossed her arms. "You say that like you're not part of the problem."

"What!?"

Which brought this to the debate at hand.

"How could I possibly trust someone who trash-talked Shiny Chariot?" Akko accused.

"I thought we already settled that!" Hannah huffed. "Besides, Diana's trash-talked Chariot too, but you seem to trust her."

"That's different," Akko evaded.

"How?"

"That doesn't matter," Akko said quickly. "I can trust Diana. But you're a total piece of work."

_Why can you trust Diana?_ Hannah frowned. _How did she earn your trust after everything?_ "What have I done to make you think you can't trust me?" she asked.

"What have you done to make me think I _can_ trust you?" Akko countered. "It isn't exactly a secret that you hate my guts."

"Okay you have a point there," Hannah conceded. "But not liking you doesn't mean I'm going to start a fight with you. I'm not that immature."

"A likely story," the other witch replied. "You'll probably wait until I'm asleep and then write all over my face or something."

"Oh so that's how it is." Hannah said angrily. "I seem to recall you impersonated Diana and tricked me and Barbara into standing in the courtyard all night—after drawing all over our faces!"

Akko pulled at her own collar nervously. "I kinda forgot about that..."

"You're always pulling stunts like that! Like when you crashed Andrew Hanbridge's party! You're the one who's always sneaking around. If anyone here is dishonest, it's you!" 

Akko's face fell. "So you're saying you don't trust me."

_What does that have to do with anything!?_ Hannah avoided Akko's gaze. "I'm not saying that..." Akko might get up to trouble, but she wasn't a dishonest person at heart. In fact, she was probably too honest at times...

"Then what are you saying?"

"I don't know!"

Akko held her chin in her hand, deep in thought. "So... if it were you, would you trust me enough to nap out here next to me?"

"Urk." Hannah didn't know what to say. She didn't know what she wanted Akko to hear. But she did know what Akko wanted to hear, and she didn't have a better idea...

"I guess so..."

"Good enough for me!" Akko said cheerily. Without further ado, she budged closer to Hannah and plunked her head down into the other girl's lap.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Hannah spluttered.

"Taking a nap," Akko mumbled into Hannah's thighs. "I can't get comfy with my head on something hard as this bench."

Hannah waved her arms in flustered confusion. "B-b-but!"

But Akko was already asleep. _She's the school's best sleeper, I'll give her that,_ Hannah thought. She sighed deeply, consigning herself to her fate. _I guess there's nothing I can do about this now._ She did her homework as best she could holding it in the air over Akko's head. The other witch still hadn't woken up by the time she finished.

"What do I do?" Hannah asked herself aloud. "Do I wake her up?" Part of her hoped that her voice would be enough to wake Akko up, but no dice.

Hannah sighed. "She'll probably be annoyed if I wake her up..." It wasn't like she wanted to sit there for an hour with this dork's head in her lap, but it would give her something else to hold over Akko...

She used her wand to levitate her finished assignment onto the empty space on the other end of the bench. The redhead witch stared down at the brunette mess in her lap. Her eyes locked onto Akko's little ponytail...

Hannah looked back and forth, making sure no one was around to witness what happened next. With a single nervous finger, she twirled the little ponytail in a circle. _What kind of hairstyle is that anyway?_ she wondered to herself. _You'd be kinda cute if you cleaned yourself up a little..._


	4. Day Four: Will that be All?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hannah and Akko follow Lotte and Barbara on their first date.

"Will that be all?" Hannah asked. "I think there's still a few items on the menu you haven't ordered yet."

"Calm down, Hannah," Akko said. "You said I could order whatever I wanted."

The other girl rolled her eyes. "Even my wallet as a bottom, you know."

A strange set of circumstances had led Akko and Hannah to be sharing a table at a café. Stranger still, Hannah had graciously(?) offered to treat Akko. Then again, it was the least she could do after Akko accommodated her peculiar request.

It had come to Hannah's attention that Lotte and Barbara were going on a date together, and she couldn't possibly go without observing her best friend on her first date with a girl she liked. Akko had gotten roped into the shenanigans as well, caving into Hannah's suggestion that she needed to do so as Lotte's friend.

Dressed in casual clothes (Hannah in a flowery summer dress, Akko in a t-shirt and shorts) and disguised with metamorphosis magic, the pair followed their friends on their date in Blytonbury. First Hannah and Akko trailed behind the couple on their walk through a park. Then they spend a torturous two hours in a movie theatre, subjecting themselves to the horrors of a vampire romance movie in the vein of Nightfall. If there was one thing Akko and Hannah could agree on, it was that vampire romances were _bo-ring._

After the movie they followed Lotte and Barbara to a coffee shop and grabbed a table on the opposite side of the room—but with a clear line of sight at their targets.

Five minutes later, Hannah returned from the cash register with her arms full of Akko's order. She placed various pastries and snacks in front of Akko, as well as a "coffee" drink that must've been 90% sugar and milk. "That should feed you for the next week or so," she said as she sat down with her own dessert and black coffee.

"I almost feel bad about taking advantage of your kindness," Akko said as she dug into her food. "But then I remembered all the times you said I was a fake witch."

Hannah winced. "Don't worry about it. Consider it an act of _noblesse oblige,"_

"Bless you. What did you get?" Akko asked. 

"A tart," Hannah answered.

"Oh. That suits you."

"...I'm hoping you don't know what that means in British slang."

"I mean you're kinda sour sometimes. What did you mean?"

"...don't worry about it."

A giggle from the other side of the coffee shop drew their attention. Barbara was quoting the movie they'd just seen, complete with over the top gestures to accompany the supposedly romantic lines. Lotte seemed to enjoy it though, judging by her giggling and blushing.

"Their date seems to be going well," Akko noted.

"It could be going better," Hannah said. She smirked. "I was kinda hoping to see something I could tease Barbara over."

Akko laughed. "I always knew you were evil."

Hannah winked. "Like you wouldn't tease Lotte the same way."

"Not Lotte. She's too nice. I might help you tease Barbara though."

The unlikely pair laughed together.

"You're kind of a slow eater, aren't you?" Akko pointed at Hannah's tart, most of which still remained on her plate.

"The word you're looking for is 'polite'," Hannah replied. "I don't demolish my food like you do." True enough, Akko's food was already gone. "Don't tell me you want some of my food too."

"What? I was just—hey what are you doing!?"

Hannah held out a piece of tart on the end of her fork. "You wanted a taste, right?"

Akko made noises of protest, but Hannah ignored her, nudging the fork closer and closer to her face. She relented, allowing Hannah to feed her.

Hannah noticed the other girl blushing. "What are you getting all embarrassed about. This is totally normal. I share food with Barbara all the time."

Akko struggled to explain the concept of indirect kisses to Hannah, resulting in the redhead blushing as well.

"Wh-what!? You're g-getting flustered over something like that? Are you a school girl or something!?"

"We both are, you dork!"

"Look at that cute couple over there!" Barbara said loudly, unknowingly pointing at Hannah and Akko.

"We should do that too!" Lotte cooed. Hannah and Akko practically died of embarrassment as they watched their friends imitate their unintentionally romantic gesture.

*******

Nothing else exciting happened on Lotte and Barbara's date—or if it did, Hannah and Akko were too distracted by... other things to notice.

They returned to the school and reversed the metamorphosis magic disguising them. Just in time for an a certain troublemaker to catch them together.

Amanda's voice called out from behind them. "Well aren't you two an unlikely couple?"

"A-Amanda!" Akko almost jumped out of her skin.

Hannah, however, responded in a more level-headed way. "Shouldn't you be busy with your head up some girl's skirt?"

"Just finished with that," Amanda replied smoothly. "I can't imagine what you two were doing together."

"None of your business, Amanda," Hannah snapped. 

"We weren't doing anything suspicious!" Akko blabbed. "We were just following Lotte and Barbara on their date!" Akko elaborated, detailing how she and Hannah followed their friends through the park, at the theatre, at the cafe...

Amanda's eyebrows climbed higher and higher with every word. "So the two of you went on a date."

"Wh-what?" Akko stuttered.

"How'd you get that out of what she said?" Hannah demanded.

Amanda counted off the evidence on her fingers. "A romantic walk in the park, a watching a movie together, coffee shop date. I bet you even treated her, Hannah."

Hannah blushed. "Wh-what does that have to do with anything?"

"How sweet," Amanda cooed. "You're such a gentleman, Hannah."

"It wasn't like that!" Hannah said, her voice rising. "It's like I—" _It's not like I want to spend time with Akko._ But she couldn't say that. Akko would only pout, and then she'd have to deal with that. And she didn't exactly _mind_ spending time with Akko today...

"Well if wasn't a date, then the two of you must be very good friends." Amanda laughed and walked away.

"I can't believe Amanda would say that we—" Akko began, cutting herself off when she saw Hannah blushing.

"Don't look at me!" Hannah yelled, covering her face with her hands.

"Don't look at me either!" Akko shouted, following suit.


	5. Day Five: Take What You Need

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akko bakes cupcakes for Hannah and wonders if the two of them are friends yet...

"Take what you need," Bartholomew said. The kitchen goblin had a soft spot for Akko, especially after the faerie strike. This soft spot extended to turning a blind eye to the occasional missing dessert and letting her use the kitchen at night from time to time. Akko had taken up baking so that she could replace the baked goods she'd "appropriated" during her time at Luna Nova, assisted by some of the kitchen faeries.

Bartholomew gave Akko permission to use whatever ingredients she needed before leaving the kitchen in her care, reminding her to clean up after herself.

Akko rolled up her sleeves and looked over the ingredients and appliances she'd prepared. _Am I really going to do this?_ she asked herself. _Am I really going to bake for Hannah?_

Despite Hannah's reassurances that it was fine, Akko felt like she owned Hannah for being treated when they followed Lotte and Barbara on their date. Her plan was to bake Hannah some cupcakes, but she wondered if that was going too far. Whatever that meant. She felt a drive to do something for Hannah but didn't understand why.

Amanda's words the other day played in Akko's head on repeat: _"Well if it wasn't a date, then the two of you must be very good friends."_ Were the two of them friends? Akko didn't know how to feel about that. The Red, Green, and Blue teams had gotten closer recently, but she didn't know if she was that close with Hannah or Barbara yet. Akko had never had trouble making friends before, but for some reason the idea of being friends with Hannah made her nervous.

 _It's not like I hate her or anything,_ Akko mused. _Especially since she's been nicer—less mean lately._ Hannah may have been mean to her before, but if she could forgive Croix, letting go of her grudge against Hannah should be a cinch.

Were the two of them already friends? Would doing this make them friends? Did Akko want to be friends with Hannah? _Why am I worry about this so much?_

Akko clapped her hands on either side of her head, slapping each of her cheeks. "Get a hold of yourself, Akko. You've already gotten the stuff out, so now you're committed. These cupcakes aren't gonna bake themselves!"

*******

"So what did you want to meet me for?" Hannah asked. Barbara, passing a message from Lotte on Akko's behalf, had told her to meet Akko at the Red Team's dorm during lunch. Hannah showed up of course, drawn in by curiosity.

"Just a second," Akko said, disappearing into her dorm for a minute. She returned, holding something behind her back.

"So, um..." Akko bit her lip. "The other day... we... damn it, I rehearsed this..."

Hannah cut Akko off before she could flounder any more. "Just spit it out, Akko. The lunch hour is only so long."

Akko thrust something at Hannah; with surprise she realized it was a plate of cupcakes, presumably baked and decorated by the commoner witch.

"What's this?" she asked.

"Y'know," Akko said quietly. "For the other day..."

"You didn't have to," Hannah said weakly. She was taken aback by Akko's gesture. _Did she really go to all that trouble just for me?_

"But I wanted to," Akko insisted. "That's the kind of thing you do for someone you... for a..."

"For a friend?" _Akko considers me a friend?_ Hannah thought. _After everything that's gone on between us? There must be something wrong with her after all..._ And yet, Hannah had to fight back a smile threatening to break out across her face.

"We... we are friends, right?" Akko asked, unleashing those crimson puppy dog eyes of hers.

Hannah had to avert her eyes. "Maybe I like giving you grief too much to be your friend," she said.

Akko couldn't tell if Hannah was joking or if she was genuinely rejecting her offer of friendship. "Isn't giving each other grief what friendship is about?"

Hannah thought about Akko's other friendships. _That sounds about right._ "Well, I suppose there goes my one argument—"

"So does that mean we're friends?" Akko asked enthusiastically.

"I guess so." Hannah said, winking as she accepted the plate of cupcakes. "But only because you made me cupcakes. I'm weak to baked goods."

Akko giggled. "I'll remember that."


	6. Day Six: I Heard Enough, This Ends Now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finnelan lectures Akko over the cupcakes she baked, but Hannah comes to the rescue.

“I heard enough, this ends now.” Finnelan told the kitchen staff to get back to work. The professor had discovered a discrepancy in the kitchen's inventory and grilled the kitchen faeries about where the missing ingredients had gone. Even Akko's class consciousness wasn't enough to prevent the faeries from pointing the finger at her in order to escape Finnelan's stern gaze and razor-sharp words.

Finnelan rounded on Akko and unleashed her ire on her least favourite student. "Miss Kagari! I don't know how you charmed the kitchen staff into enabling your shenanigans, but you'll find that the faculty isn't as easy to convince!"

Akko was well accustomed to Finnelan's lectures, but that didn't make weather it any easier. She almost regretted baking those cupcakes for Hannah. Almost.

"Don't think that misappropriating desserts from the school kitchens is any more permissible if you steal the ingredients and bake them yourself!"

"C'mon," Akko said, "I even shared some cupcakes with the kitchen goblins..."

"In what way would bribing the staff exonerate you of your petty mischief?"

Akko was spared coming up with a response by the arrival of none other than Hannah, who had heard that Akko had been hauled off by an angry Finnelan.

"Professor, I really must protest," she said. "Akko was returning a favour from me. She wasn't being greedy or anything."

"I don't see how that changes anything, Miss England," Finnelan said. "The faculty can't let slide any form of petty crime in this school, nor the loss of any assets—"

Hannah cleared her throat. "Pardon my interruption, professor, but the school _does_ buy the kitchen supplies in bulk, so the cost of the ingredients she used is negligible at best. Furthermore, unlike last year the school has enough assets to absorb the cost of a few missing cups of flour." She left unsaid the fact that Akko was directly responsible for the surge of income gracing Luna Nova Academy, knowing full well that Finnelan was both aware and annoyed by this dynamic.

"Wow, you kinda sounded like Diana there," Akko whispered. Hannah elbowed her in response. _I'm doing it on purpose,_ Hannah thought. _The only person who can get the professors to back down is Diana, so I'm going to have to putt of those vibes if I'm going to save your butt!_

Finnelan sighed. "I suppose if Miss England of all people is defending Miss Kagari, then perhaps I am being too harsh..."

Hannah seized on Finnelan's moment of weakness. "We're sorry for wasting the time you took to look into this matter. Weren't you looking for volunteers to take those textbooks back to storage?" Finnelan opened her mouth to reply, but Hannah didn't give her a chance. "Akko and I will do it. Have a good afternoon, professor!"

Before Finnelan could object or admonish Akko further, Hannah grabbed her newfound friend by the wrist and pulled her away in the direction of the classroom which held the aforementioned textbooks.

"Hey, why'd you say that to her?" Akko asked. "Now I've got to move around dusty old textbooks!"

"We have to," Hannah corrected. "You got away lucky. I volunteered us for grunt work so she wouldn't hit you with something worse."

"Huh. I didn't think about it that way." Akko smiled. "Thanks for sticking your neck out for me."

Hannah smirked. "What are friends for?"

"Hannah! You're the best!"

"Also, this is just another thing I can hold over you."

"Wait? What? Hannah!"


	7. Day Seven: No Worries, We Still Have Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amanda and Sucy try to prank Hannah, but Akko won't stand for it.

“No worries, we still have time,” Amanda whispered. She looked back and forth looking as suspicious as, well, Amanda O'Neill.

"Are you sure she's going to come this way?" Sucy asked. "This potion's got valuable mushrooms in it and I'll take it out of your hide if you make me waste them."

"Don't get your panties in a twist. Hannah won't know what hit her."

In Amanda and Sucy's opinions, Hannah was getting a little big for her britches. Which meant that she was taking up their Akko time. Which meant that she wasn't causing trouble with them any more. Amanda and Sucy coped with this the only way they knew how: causing trouble. Naturally they could've just talked to Akko, but that just wasn't their style.

Hannah liked to take walks around the campus in her free time, and Amanda mapped out her route for obviously nefarious purposes. She hatched a plan with Sucy to stick it to Hannah. A perfect plan. What could possibly go wrong?

"What are you two up to?"

Amanda and Sucy turned around to see Akko eyeing the cauldron suspended by levitation magic. Even from the ground she could smell the odious potion inside it.

"Lemme guess," Akko said. "You're gonna dump that potion on somebody?"

"Don't worry, this witch deserves it," Amanda said.

"Who is it?"

"Your new bff," Sucy said with a smirk.

"Hannah? No, no, no!" Akko stabbed her finger at her friends. "You leave her alone!"

"Since when did you get all tight with England?" Amanda asked. "You two were always at each other's throats."

"Yeah, well that changed," Akko said. "She's my friend now, and I'm not gonna let you mess with her!"

"You mess with me all the time though," Sucy deadpanned.

"That's different," Akko hand-waved. "The point is, me and Hannah are friends, and I don't want you giving her any trouble. She's actually kinda nice, y'know."

Amanda looked over Akko's shoulder and her eyes lit up. "Is that so? What else don't we know about Hannah?"

Akko suspected nothing. "She's got a pretty good sense of humour, and she's actually pretty smart. Not like Diana smart, but she's up there."

"She's sort of pretty too, isn't she?" Amanda prompted.

"Yeah I guess she's pretty hot," Akko said. "She's got really great hair, and if you look really close she's got these cute little freckles. And have you seen her smile? It's like—"

Akko heard the sound of shoes scuffing the ground behind her. She turned around and saw a flash of red hair disappearing behind a wall.

"Oh my, who could that have been?" Sucy cackled.

Forgetting Amanda and Sucy, Akko followed the object of her curiosity around the corner and saw Hannah with her back pressed up against the wall, her hands covering her face as if that would hide her from Akko.

"H-H-Hannah!?" Akko yelped. "Wh-what are you doing here!?"

Akko's interrogation of Amanda and Sucy delayed them long enough that Hannah, instead of being doused with stink potion, had found the trio talking. She arrived just in time to hear Akko's compliments, all comments she would've been too shy to say to Hannah's face.

Hannah peered at Akko between her fingers. "Sh-shut up!" she stuttered. "You r-r-really run your mouth, d-don't you!"

Akko attempted to stammer out something that would pacify Hannah without taking back any of her compliments at the risk of offending her friend. Her stammering was loud enough for Amanda and Sucy to hear, much to their amusement.

"That was even better than the whole potion thing," Amanda said.

"You better find a use for it then," Sucy said evilly. "I wasn't kidding about you wasting those mushrooms."

"Wait, what?"


	8. Day Eight: I Know You Do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barbara asks Hannah about her friendship with Akko, and Diana accidentally introduces drama.

"I know you do," Barbara said. "I'm asking why you see Akko as a friend."

Hannah and Barbara were having evening tea in their dorm room. Diana wasn't present—no doubt preoccupied with something important. Diana Cavendish was always in high demand, so her roommates started their tea without her. They gossiped as usual, Barbara filling in her best friend on the details of her budding relationship with Lotte. Naturally, Barbara asked Hannah what she'd been doing lately, leading her to ask Hannah about her friendship with Akko.

"I don't know," Hannah replied. "It wasn't like an executive decision. She just kind of asked if we were friends and I said we were."

"Ok, but like, why did you say yes?" Barbara asked. "You must've felt the same way, right?"

"I mean, I guess so," Hannah said hesitantly. "She ambushed me with cupcakes! What was I supposed to do?"

"She baked you cupcakes? Is that why Finnelan dragged her off, calling her a kitchen thief?"

Hannah nodded. "She's so reckless."

Barbara nodded in turn. "She'll do anything for her friends." She gave her best friend a pointed look. 

"Um, well, yeah. That's one of her better points." It ought to have been easy for Hannah to explain her friendship with Akko, but she was faltering.

"If you're worried about what I'll think, don't worry," Barbara reassured her. "I don't really have any grudge against her. Any more."

"I-is that so?" Hannah's relief was palpable.

"Lotte speaks highly of her," Barbara replied. "She paints a picture of Akko as an overly enthusiastic girl who means well even if it doesn't come off that way. But she's got a good heart."

"She's determined, I'll give her that," Hannah said. "And she's got this intriguing way of making things work out for her." She rolled her eyes at Akko's antics in an almost wistful way. "She's got this kind of energy to her that's sort of attrac—engaging. Like, it rubs off on you and you catch a good mood from her."

Barbara took a sip of her tea, prompting Hannah to continue.

"She's kind of nice, and she's pretty free with compliments—" she suddenly cleared her throat. "But she could work on her manners. Seriously, that girl's got a temper on her too."

"You're not the most sweet-tempered girl in school either," Barbara said with a giggle.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"

The door opened and in walked Diana, yawning slightly behind her hand. "Good evening, girls. I don't suppose there's any tea left?"

"Of course we made enough for you," Barbara said. She touched her hand to the teapot. "It's still pretty warm, too."

"Excellent." Diana sat down with them and poured herself a cup of tea.

"What kept you, Diana?" Hannah asked.

"Nothing of note," Diana said. "I trust you two have more interesting things to share?"

The other Blue Team members briefly recounted their previous conversation to the latecomer. When Hannah brought up Akko, a peculiar expression passed over Diana's face. Something between surprise and amusement. "Before I forget, I have something to tell you, Hannah."

"Oh?"

"Akko wanted me to tell you that she would like to eat lunch with the three of us tomorrow. That will make a nice change, won't it?"

"You were with Akko earlier?" Hannah asked.

"Yes." Diana didn't elaborate. "It's nice to see the two of you getting along better. I've been hoping that you girls would make friends in the Green and Red Teams."

"Oh. You know, Akko's pretty interesting." Hannah exercised all her restraint to keep herself from asking anything more. _Why had Diana spent an evening with Akko?_ She brooded over that question, recalling her curiosity about the connection between those two. _More important than what they're doing, why don't I know about it? Why have neither of them mentioned it?_ Was it a secret? Was it worth worrying about? Was it any of her business?

_Screw that. I'll get to the bottom of this myself._


	9. Day Nine: You Shouldn't Have Come Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hannah tries to figure out what's up with Akko and Diana, only to be caught by Diana and gets a lecture for her troubles.

“You shouldn’t have come here,” Diana said coolly.

Hannah whirled around, her heart thumping hard against her chest. She thought her hiding place would be enough to escape detection. "D-D-Diana! How did you—"

"You weren't exactly subtle. It would take a fool not to notice you."

"So you're saying Akko doesn't know I'm here?"

Diana rolled her eyes and sighed, which Hannah took as a confirmation. "Would you care to explain why you're spying on me and Akko?"

Hannah had promised herself that she wouldn't rest until she discovered what was going on between Akko and Diana. She observed Akko and Diana closely, waiting for an opportunity to catch them red-handed... at whatever they were doing. Her chance arrived when Akko said she had something to do in the evening and evaded Hannah's questions about it. Under the cover of the autumn night, she followed Akko to the edge of the woods where the energetic girl disappeared. Hannah crept deeper and deeper into the forest, moving from bush to bush as she approached, careful not to be discovered by her friends.

Or so she thought.

"I'd suggest you explain yourself before Akko catches on," Diana said. "I gave her a distraction before coming to confront you, but we both know how short her attention span is."

"Explain myself? What do you—"

"Why is it so important that you learn how Akko spends her time with others?"

Hannah balked under Diana's stern gaze. "It's not _others_ I'm worried about..."

"I see. And why are you concerned about how Akko spends her time with me? Your behaviour is peculiar for that of a friend."

Hannah battled with her own jealousy and insecurity. Exposing her vulnerabilities to the illustrious Diana Cavendish was the last thing she wanted to do. She had spent their entire friendship trying to measure up to her friend, but this was the first time she resented Diana for exceeding her own abilities and accomplishing what she couldn't.

"How did you become friends with Akko? Why does she trust you? What's going on with the two of you?"

Diana considered Hannah carefully, her analytical, azure eyes measuring her friend for some unknown value.

At last she spoke. "I'm going to reveal something to you in the interest of helping you realize something important. Akko wouldn't want you to know this, but I'm putting my trust in you. Don't disappoint me."

Hannah nodded solemnly.

"I have been helping Akko with her spellwork in secret. I'm sure you've noticed she's improved? Akko feels insecure in the gap between her abilities and those of her classmates."

"That's all? Why would that be a secret?" Hannah stopped herself just short of asking why Diana was the only one who got to know.

Unfortunately for Hannah, Diana saw right through her. "There's no need to be jealous. I understand that you want to be closer with Akko, but when it comes to matters of trust—"

"Are you saying she doesn't trust me?"

"I'm saying that she doesn't trust you enough _yet_. Akko and I have been through a lot together and have been closer for longer than the two of you have."

 _Don't remind me,_ Hannah thought.

"But that is hardly an insurmountable obstacle. You have to remember that you have a history of belittle Akko's magic, and you have yet to make up for it. If you take care to build trust with her, she may let you in on the secret which I've already revealed to you. If you want her to admit her insecurities to you, you're going to have to allow her to feel safe to do so."

Hannah wished she could refute what Diana had told her, but as usual, Diana Cavendish was impeccably correct. _Of course Akko would feel a little uneasy with me. I need to be a better friend to her._ "I understand."

"Perhaps if she trusts you enough, you can takeover the duty of tutor from me," Diana said, a slight smile playing across her lips. "I certainly wouldn't mind freeing up more of my personal time."

"Why would Akko ever choose me over you as a tutor?" Hannah asked, her voiced weighted with despair. "You're twice the witch I am."

Diana smiled sweetly at her friend. "Don't be so hard on yourself. There's more to being a witch than magical skill. Though I suppose if it's a competition, you ought to come up with a way to best me."

Diana excused herself and returned to the clearing where she was helping Akko with her magic practice. Hannah felt exhausted one pressure was relieved only for another to take its place. _How am I going to compete with Diana Cavendish?_ Only in her wildest dreams could she hope to outshine the greatest witch of their generation. _What else could there be to a being a witch? What in the name of the Nine Olde Witches would ever make Akko choose me over Diana?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I accidentally ended up paraphrasing Hermione in the first Harry Potter book, but like, in a gayer way.


	10. Day Ten: You Think This Troubles Me?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akko and Hannah get caught up in a game of truth or dare, and...
> 
> ...well, we all know where this is going, don't we?

"You think this troubles me?" Hannah scoffed. "As if something like this would bother me."

"If you're not bothered," Amanda said slyly, "then go ahead and kiss her."

Hannah swallowed thickly and slowly turned to face the nervous girl next to her. Akko was speechless for once, blushing up a storm. Hannah wasn't doing too much better.

 _I guess that's one way to get closer to her,_ she thought sardonically.

_Earlier that evening..._

The Red, Green, and Blue teams were having a party in Diana, Hannah, and Barbara's luxuriously spacious dorm room. The day after her confrontation with Hannah, Diana had suggested the idea "in the interested of promoting camaraderie between our teams." Of course, Hannah saw this as a golden opportunity to cement her friendship with Akko.

Clearly Akko had a similar goal: she went to Hannah first (rather than Diana, Hannah noted) when she first arrived and remained at her side for most of the party. While the nine girls mellowed out and watched a movie, Akko and Hannah sat next to each other—closer than they had ever sat together and the longest they'd ever sat together, if one was keeping track.

Akko struggled to pay attention to the movie, her hyperawareness of her new friend distracting her. She did her best not to fidget or do anything to prevent Hannah from enjoying the movie. Though it would've been difficult to outdo Amanda's constant commentary. Even Diana had given up trying to quiet her down.

Hannah, on the other hand, was too lost in her own head to notice what was going on around her. Akko could've kissed her on the cheek and she wouldn't have noticed. She was too busy thinking about what Diana had said to her. _How can I compete with Diana?_ she thought. _Is she saying I have something she doesn't? If only._

The movie ended and everyone got up to stretch and get some more snacks. Everyone except Hannah.

"Is everything okay, Hannah?" Akko asked, leaning over her. "You seem kinda out of it."

"Oh, um." Hannah snapped out of it. "There's something on my mind, that's all." Akko didn't press the issue, but she did give Hannah a sympathetic smile.

Everyone was behaving themselves and getting along with each other, but naturally such a peace could only last so long.

"Let's kick things up a notch," Amanda said. "Time for some truth or dare!"

"Do I even need to say how dubious that suggestion is?" Diana shot Amanda a tired look.

"C'mon! We're supposed to be 'promoting camaraderie', right? Nothing deepens friendship like a juicy game of truth or dare. Am I right, girls?"

No strong voices of dissent arose from the other partiers.

Diana sighed. "Very well. Have it your way."

The girls gathered together and sat in a circle.

"Now let's be civil about this," Diana began. "We won't be forcing each other to do anything anyone is uncomfortable with doing. You can all opt out—"

"Aw, that's no fun," Amanda said, elbowing Diana, who was sitting at her left.

The game began and escalated just as quickly as one would expect it to with the people involved. Sucy was dared into wearing one of Barbara's frilly dresses. Jasminka admitted to underage drinking. Constanze had to curse out loud. Diana was dared into sitting in Amanda's lap for ten minutes. Akko admitted to her "type" being girls with long hair. Barbara was compelled to reveal how far she'd gone with Lotte (French kissing!). After a little persuasion from her girlfriend, Lotte read out the a steamy paragraph from the smuttiest fanfic she'd ever read.

Lotte accidentally set the night's most exciting event in motion. "Amanda, truth or dare?"

"Truth. My butt is still sore from the last dare."

"Have you ever kissed anyone?"

Amanda started visibly sweating and looking to the left. "...yes."

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, O'Neill," Diana said, looking to her right.

"Can it, Cavendish."

"I can't believe you're getting all flustered over something like that," Hannah snickered.

Amanda narrowed her eyes. "Alright then, your turn. Hannah, truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"I dare you to kiss Akko."

Two voices cried out in harmonized dismay. "WHAT!?"

"You two are good friends now, right?" Amanda smirked. "It shouldn't be a problem for you two."

"Of course not." Hannah forced a laugh. "You think this troubles me?"

And that's how Hannah and Akko found themselves in their current predicament.

Hannah and Akko stared at each other, every moment passing at a snail's pace. Neither of them made a move, which somehow only made things more awkward.

Hannah found herself torn between two difficult choices. Either she continue to stall the kiss between them and inevitable refuse to do it—or she would have to kiss Akko and make things impossibly awkward between them.

Akko was having just as hard a time. I can't do this! _Why is kissing so easy for Europeans? She had never kissed anyone before, and she didn't want her first kiss to be in front of an audience. _And her first kiss was going to be with Hannah England? _Not that I have a problem with Hannah. It's not like I'd rather kiss Diana or something.___

__Hannah looked to Diana for some kind of help. Her roommate only smiled. "You don't have to if you don't want to."_ _

___I guess a kiss with Akko is one thing I'll have over Diana..._ Hannah flinched at her own conclusion. _Is that all I can think of?__ _

__"We're waiting!" Amanda said, barely able to contain her laughter. The rest of the girls were watching intently. Lotte and Barbara stared at them with the adoring eyes of shippers. Diana's eyes were unreadable._ _

__"Ugh! Fine then!" Hannah reached out and cupped Akko's cheek in her hand. "Are we going to do this?"_ _

__Akko squeaked out an affirmative._ _

__Before she could lose her nerve, Hannah leaned forward, closed her eyes, and pressed her lips to Akko's. It wasn't Hannah's first kiss, but there was a certain uncanniness to it as if it were. The awkwardness between them seemed to manifest as physical sensation that affected their kiss. Nevertheless, she felt the floor fall out from under her when she felt Akko's lips pressing back against hers._ _

__Neither Hannah nor Akko knew how long they were supposed to kiss. Obviously they'd be made fun of if they kissed for too long, but they ran the risk of being told to kiss again if the kiss was too short. In the end they broke apart when Amanda whooped at the spectacle she'd instigated. Akko and Hannah jumped away from each other, red-faced with steam rising from under their collars._ _

__"That's what I'm talking about!" Amanda pumped her fist in the air. "Let's see how much spicier we can get!"_ _

__"I think not, O'Neill," Diana said sharply. "Unless you're volunteering..."_ _

__"Whoa, no need to go that far."_ _

__The rest of the night passed in a blur, uncommitted to either Hannah or Akko's memory. After all, how could they process anything after _that?__ _


	11. Day Eleven: But I Will Never Forget

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akko and Hannah suffer through the akwardness of having kissed each other and worry over how this will affect their friendship.

“But I will never forget!” Akko lamented under her breath and into her pillow. "How am I supposed act like normal around Hannah after _kissing_ her?" And of course it wasn't just any kiss; it was her _first_ kiss. She would always remember it as long as she lived, unless she sustained some major head trauma... which was always an option...

Akko rolled back and forth on her bed, unable to sleep due to her dwelling on the events of the evening's party. She cursed Amanda for picking that dare just to get back at Hannah. _I can't imagine how she's feeling about this,_ Akko thought. Was Hannah just as troubled as she was? Did she resent Akko for being made to kiss her? _Was that her first kiss too?_

Suddenly Akko found herself boarding a very peculiar train of thought: was she a good kisser? The only thing that could possibly make her situation more awkward was if she was a terrible kisser. For a moment she considered asking Hannah how she'd done before she caught herself. _She'd probably stop being friends with me on the spot if I did that._

She fell asleep trying to think of ways of glossing over the awkward event, desperately hoping that the incident wouldn't ruin their friendship.

*******

_I'd give anything for Akko to forget that ever happened,_ Hannah agonized, her emotional state no less troubled than Akko's. _I shouldn't have let Amanda goad me into doing it. I could've opted out if I wanted to._ But Diana's reminder that she could opt out only provoked her. Hannah was never the type to back down, and her competition with Diana didn't exactly help matters.

The inescapable truth of the matter was that Hannah was the one who kissed Akko, who had only gone along with her. _What does she think about me?_ How would anyone think of their new friend kissing them (albeit for the sake of a dare)? How would she face Akko tomorrow? It wasn't as if she could avoid her. That would only make things worse.

Hannah found it beyond perplexing. _Maybe I'll take my frustrations out on Amanda for starting this whole mess._

*******

The next day got off to a bad start when Akko and Hannah made eye contact, promptly turning red, and hiding behind their nearest friend. Things only went downhill from there.

Akko's attention during class was poor on the best of days. Today she spent most of her time in class glancing at Hannah to try to assess her mood. Hannah was no better; she couldn't focus because she needed to restrain herself from looking at Akko.

Lunch was a special kind of hell. Akko had already agreed the day before to eat lunch with the Blue Team, and she couldn't risk offending Hannah by refusing now. The two girls ate lunch while awkwardly talking around each other as Barbara observed them closely and Diana suspiciously acted as if nothing was amiss.

Things might have continued in that way until graduation if not for the unwitting intervention of none other than Amanda O'Neill.

She caught them silently walking together after class just moments before they would've parted. "Akko and Hannah sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

Hannah may not have known how to act around Akko right now, but she did know how to deal with Amanda's harassment.

"I'm surprised you know how to spell a six letter word," she snapped.

"Ooh, feisty!" Amanda laughed. "Tell me, how did it feel to kiss Akko?"

"How about you tell me how it feels when you kiss my ass," Hannah fired back.

"Wow, that's not ladylike at all."

"Amanda's just picking on us because she hadn't gotten any action lately," Akko said.

"Hey!"

Hannah snickered. "She's trying to live vicariously through us. How sad."

"Hey! I've gotten tons of action lately! I'm in high demand!"

"Oh really?" Akko smirked. "From who?"

Amanda suddenly got evasive. "That's none of your business."

"Sure," Hannah said condescendingly. "Lemme guess, she goes to another school?"

"I'm not lying about it!"

"Don't worry, we believe you," Akko said in the least reassuring tone humanly possible. "You're not jealous of us at all." She added an audible winking noise.

"Screw you guys! Have fun making out with each other!" Amanda stormed off.

"We'll give you a full report!" Hannah yelled after her.

"The nerve of some people," Akko said.

"Amanda needs to learn that nobody crosses Hannah England and gets away with it."

Akko ignored the urge to point out all the times she'd gotten away with it. "What did you have in mind?"

"Good, old-fashioned, British noble revenge."

"That doesn't sound intimidating."

"Clearly you've never read and British history book."

They should've known there was a perfect way to overcome the uneasiness between them: uniting against a common enemy. The kiss between them went forgotten as they plotted against their troublesome mutual friend.


	12. Day Twelve: Who Would Do This?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hannah and Akko begin their revenge on Amanda and the awkwardness between them comes back with a vengeance.

"Who would do this?" Professor Badcock stared at the two metre tall column of flowers in the middle of the hallway by the student dorms.

"Nonsense on this scale could only be the work of Miss O'Neill," Finnelan said.

"But that's just it. O'Neill's roommates say that she's inside that mess."

Finnelan contemplated the mess. "Then O'Neill must have accidentally caught herself in one of her own schemes."

Constanze, who was standing nearby, shook her head vigorously. "Amanda doesn't like flowers," Jasminka said.

"That's true," Badcock said. "Flowers aren't exactly O'Neill's style..."

"Well if O'Neill isn't behind this," Finnelan said, "then the only other suspect is—"

*******

"Akko, you really outdid yourself there," Hannah said. "That was a truly astounding amount of flowers."

The two girls sat together on a bench in the courtyard. They had waited by the hallway just long enough to see the fruits of their labour, then hightailed it away from the scene so they could laugh at their victim.

Akko rubbed the back of her neck bashfully. "Thanks. It was a spell I learned from Amanda too. You're the real MVP, though. It was really impressive how you turned it into a trap."

"Oh, it was nothing." It was everything, actually. Hannah specifically researched how to modify a spell into a trap that would specifically target Amanda. It was the most advanced magic she'd ever performed, and Akko had been there to witness its success.

"I didn't know you were so good at magic," Akko continued. "Must be nice coming from a witch family."

Hannah forced a laugh to cover up the erratic thoughts bouncing around her head. _Akko's impressed with my magic? I wonder how I compare to Diana in her eyes..._

Before Hannah could find a clever way to further impress Akko, Professor Finnelan appeared with her customary steely expression.

"Miss Kagari! What on earth did you do to Miss O'Neill!?"

Akko squeaked. Hannah could almost see the gears turning in her head as she tried to come up with a deflection. No doubt the pressure of Finnelan's rage would prevent her coming away from this without a punishment.

Hannah England to the rescue.

"What are you talking about, professor? Akko's been with me all day."

Finnelan frowned, but didn't question Hannah's obfuscation. She wasn't aware of their newfound friendship, so why would she suspect that Hannah would defend Akko? "Very well, but I'm stumped as to who else would cause trouble in this school."

"It's not surprising that something would happen to Amanda. She has a habit of making enemies."

Finnelan nodded. "Well, if either of you hear anything, please tell a faculty member." She departed and the girls made sure she was out of earshot before they reacted.

Akko covered her mouth with her hands and giggled. "I can't believe you just lied to a professor!"

"I didn't lie," Hannah said, smirking to herself. "I _have_ been with you all day."

Akko continued to giggle. "I thought you were kinda straight-laced, like Diana. I mean, I kinda thought you were a bit of a bully..." Akko backtracked immediately. "But actually you're a lot nicer now! Though you've still got that fiery temper."

"Be careful not to get on my bad side," Hannah said with a wink. "This is only the beginning of Amanda's living nightmare."

"That's harsh!" Akko laughed. "And all because she made us—" Akko cut herself off and started blushing intensely.

Hannah almost choked. _Why did she bring that up now!?_

"Um, this is awkward now," Akko mumbled.

 _Of course it's awkward now!_ Hannah screamed internally.

"I don't know what to say now."

_I don't know what to say either!_

Akko laughed nervously. "I never thought I'd end up kissing you... this is weird isn't it..."

"Oh no, it's cool," Hannah lied uneasily. "Who hasn't kissed a friend before?" Hannah and Barbara just so happened to have the same expertise and kissing style after what strained the definition of "practice."

"...that was my first kiss..."

"Wait, what?" Hannah took a double take. _That was her first kiss!?_ Hannah suddenly felt way more awkward. "Um, uh, that sure is something..."

"...so if I was bad at it... that's why..."

Hannah responded before her brain could catch up with her mouth. "Don't worry. That was a pretty good kiss for your first time." _What the heck, mouth?_ she added mentally. "I mean, I didn't enjoy it—no! It wasn't bad! Just awkward!"

"Oh," Akko said quietly. A bizarre intrusive thought invaded her brain: _I wonder how close Hannah was with those other friends she kissed..._

However, Akko didn't have time to question that thought. Amanda arrived at the scene, still spitting flower petals.

"You two... **ptooie**... are dead."

"Wow, nice floral perfume, Amanda," Hannah snarked. "Reminds me that I need to get some more. Akko, let's go shopping!"

Akko, who was still stunned by her own intrusive thought, found herself dragged away from the bench by her hand. Hannah laughed wildly as they ran away from Amanda, throwing flower-related jeers over her shoulder, and squeezing Akko's hand with her slightly sweaty palm.


	13. Day Thirteen: Try Harder Next Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hannah finds herself in a bit of a bind and has a frank discussion with Amanda about Akko.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For extra reading enjoyment, read this chapter while listening to "Holding Out For a Hero" by Bonnie Tyler. Or the Shrek 2 version, if you're extra classy.

“Try harder next time,” Amanda said. "Did you really think I wouldn't have my guard up after last time?"

"Yes," Hannah answered. "I was hoping to sneak up on you like the due date of an assignment. We all know you have trouble noticing those."

"Always so snarky," Amanda replied. "I don't think you appreciate the gravity of your situation."

Though Hannah and Akko had escaped Amanda after their first act of revenge, their second try wasn't so successful. Hannah was supposed to keep an eye on Amanda while Akko did the set up, but Amanda led her into a trap of her own in one of the school's unused rooms. Without warning, Hannah found herself suspended upside-down in the air by a rope tied around her ankle.

"You were just dying to say that, weren't you?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

"You're despicable."

"C'mon, at least I tied you up in a way that your skirt won't fall down." An additional rope wrapped around Hannah like a boa constrictor, keeping her skirt in place just as Amanda said.

"Yeah, but you also restrained my arms, jackass."

"Of course I did. Can't have you escaping on your own, can I? Where's the fun in that?"

Hannah groaned. "Just how am I supposed to get out of this?"

Amanda smirked. "I guess you'll have to wait for your _girlfriend_ to rescue you. I suggest you sing a little Bonnie Tyler to get in the mood."

"G-g-girlfriend!" Hannah yelped. "A-Akko's not my g-girlfriend!"

"Oh really?" Amanda sneered. "Then why did you assume I was talking about Akko? What, no response? You two are such a _cute_ couple. You kissed in a game of truth or dare and now you're running off into the sunset together while holding hands!" Amanda smiled her most saccharine fake smile. "It's so sweet I could just throw up!"

"We weren't holding hands!" Hannah objected. "I was just—"

"Can it, Romeo."

"I'm telling you, she's my _friend_. That's it. Just cause you're romantically frustrated or whatever doesn't give you license to project onto other people."

"What's up with you and Akko anyway?" Amanda asked accusingly. "You using her or something?"

"Of course not, you brute. I already told you. She's my _friend_."

"How did that happen anyway?"

"Let me down and I'll tell you."

"Tell me and I'll think about it."

Hannah sighed. "Alright. I started keeping a closer eye on her to cut down on her troublemaking. Then we ended up being stuck together in various situations and we kind of got to know each other better."

Amanda smirked, but said nothing, so Hannah continued. "I don't know. We just started looking out for each other, I guess. She's fun to be around. And she understands the value of getting revenge on _peasants like you_."

"That's really cute," Amanda said. "Ten out of ten. Anyway, I've got to be going..."

"Wait!" Hannah shouted. "You said you were going to let me go!"

"I said I'd think about it. I thought about it and I decided against it." Amanda walked to the door. "If I'm feeling generous I'll tell Akko where you are in a few hours. Don't forget to give your prince another kiss when she rescues you!" The sound of her cackling echoed through the empty room even after she left.

Hannah groaned loudly. There was no way for her to escape on her own. She couldn't use her arms, and her wand had fallen to the floor. Her only option was to scream for help, which would be extremely humiliating—and that's probably what Amanda wanted. But she could already feel the blood rushing to her head, making her dizzy, blurring her thoughts... She opened her mouth to yell for help—

She spotted a familiar form scuttling under the door and across the floor.

"I've never been so happy to see a rodent," Hannah said.

Akko—in her mouse form, of course—saluted. "I realized something was wrong when you didn't come back, so I came to check up on you. It wasn't that hard to find you. Amanda's pretty loud," she added with a laugh.

Hannah couldn't help but wonder how much of their conversation Akko had heard. "Akko, I adore you, but could you get me out of this before my head explodes?"

Akko blushed at the word "adore" (can mice blush?). "Oh, right!" She transformed back into her usual witchy self and contemplated the ropes binding her friend. "Okay, I think I know what to do. _Murowa!_ "

"Wait! Don't just shoot the ropes!"

Hannah's outburst came too late, but she misjudged her friend. The spell hit the rope holding her in the air and it snapped accordingly. The redhead let out a yelp as she anticipated being dropped head-first on the floor, only to find herself in Akko's arms.

Akko giggled. "You thought I was just gonna drop you, huh?"

"Hey, it's not like you're known for well-thought out plans, and—" Hannah suddenly became very aware of the fact that Akko was holding her up bridal-style. Their faces were too close of Hannah's liking, their embrace a little too intimate. Hannah dreaded to think what Amanda would say if she saw them like this. "P-p-put me down already, d-dork!"

"I can't do that yet," Akko said, cocking her head to the side in confusion. "You were hanging there for a while. You'll just fall over if you stand up right now."

"Th-then lay me down on the floor then!"

"Okay, if you insist." Akko kneeled down and gently set her friend down on the floor. "Are you sure you're okay? Your face is kinda red. Do you have too much blood in your head still?"

"I'm fine!" Hannah yipped. Her body was all out of sorts with her blood rushing out of her head and back where it belonged. She felt light-headed and didn't trust herself to move or say anything else. In a daze, her mind had fixated on Amanda's taunt: _"Don't forget to give your prince another kiss when she rescues you!"_

If Hannah weren't so flustered, she would've noticed that Akko was just as nervous as she was, sweating and avoiding Hannah's eyes. It took all of her self-control not to tell Hannah how nice her hair smelled, how nice it felt to hold her...


	14. Day Fourteen: Some People Call This Wisdom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akko and Hannah have a fight after one of their pranks on Amanda doesn't play out, and Barbara tries to play mediator.

"Some people call this wisdom," Barbara said with a light chuckle. "Always have an escape plan."

"What are you talking about?" Akko asked. She was in hiding in Barbara's sleeve in her mouse form. "This is a great escape plan."

"We wouldn't have needed to escape if _somebody_ didn't mess up our plan," Hannah hissed. She had transformed herself into a mink and hidden herself between Barbara's vest and her shirt, her head poking out at the vest's neckline.

"If you had done your job, it wouldn't have been a problem!"

"You're the one who crumbled under pressure!"

Hannah and Akko had been going back forth with Amanda trading blows in an endless (and endlessly entertaining) cycle of revenge. Their latest plot against Amanda blew up in their faces. The plan was for Akko to impersonate Amanda using metamorphosis magic and publicly humiliate herself—or rather, Amanda—while Hannah made sure Amanda was far away from the scene.

Unfortunately, Amanda escaped Hannah's clutches and reached the cafeteria where she caught Akko in the act before she could do serious damage to Amanda's reputation. Though Akko might've been able to salvage the prank by continuing the facade and arguing with the real Amanda, she ruined her disguise by freaking out by fleeing the scene. She ran into Hannah and they ran away from a vengeful Amanda, transforming themselves into their current animal forms and taking refuge in Barbara's uniform. Barbara, who had been sitting by herself in the courtyard while waiting for Lotte, was amused rather than annoyed to have her friends use her as a hiding place while they bickered.

"Calm down, you two," Barbara said. "Amanda's going to find you if you keep squeaking at each other like that."

"Akko started it!" Hannah said.

"Calm down, you weasel," Akko shot back.

"I'm not a weasel!" Hannah said indignantly. "I'm a mink! They're highly regarded for their elegant fur!"

"What's the difference?"

"They are closely related..." Barbara added.

"Barbara! Don't take her side!"

"Oh? I'm not allowed to intervene in your little lover's spat?" Barbara could only laugh at their responses.

"A-a-as if I'd date a dork like Akko!" Hannah stuttered. "That b-b-blockhead can barely carry out a revenge plan!"

"Oh yeah!? I had to rescue you from being tied up like a kitten in a ball of string! You ought to have been kissing me to show thanks!" Akko somehow didn't know how that sounded.

"ACK! Why would you even say that!?" Hannah wailed, her mind flashing back to Amanda's taunt again.

"Oh my," Barbara said loud enough to pierce the sound of Akko and Hannah's squeaking. "Here comes Amanda."

With a final squeak, Akko tucked her head back into Barbara's sleeve and latched onto her wrist. Hannah wiggled back down out of sight, tucked into her best friend's chest. Barbara struggled not to squirm as Hannah wiggled around against her shirt.

"Oi, Barbara!" Amanda yelled. "You see the loser lovebirds run by?"

"Nope," Barbara said. Technically they hadn't run by; they'd run up to her and into her clothes. "What did they do this time?"

"They messed up one of their pranks," Amanda scoffed. "Jennifer's tits, I'd be less insulted by all this if they were halfway good at their so-called revenge."

"Maybe they would stop if you apologized for messing with them first," Barbara suggested.

"As if! Hannah started it by making fun of me for... you know what she did!"

"I had no idea you were so thin-skinned, Amanda."

"That kiss was the best thing that ever happened to them. Look how lovey-dovey they are! Quite frankly they're getting along too well."

"Lovey-dovey!?" Hannah hissed. "Not this crap again."

"Why would she think we're lovey-dovey!?" Akko squeaked. "She's the one who made us k-k-kiss!"

Barbara shook herself slightly to shut up the noisy rodent and mustelid before they outed themselves. "Well I'll admit, as a third party it's fun to watch all this play out. If this goes on any further, the three of you are going to be the laughingstock of the school."

"As if they could do any damage to my reputation." It was hard to tell if Amanda was insulting herself or not.

"Who knows," Barbara said. "Maybe they'll find out one of your _dirty little secrets_."

The colour drained from Amanda's face. "No-no way they could—not that I have any secrets. A-Anyway I need to find those two and give 'em what for!" She raced off so fast she left an Amanda-coloured blur.

"Looks like you two are safe for the time being," Barbara said.

"'Show 'em what for?' What decade is Amanda from?" Hannah wiggled her head out of Barbara's vest.

"Hannah, why exactly did you go straight for my chest when you needed to hide?" Barbara asked.

"Oh, don't act like I haven't been here before."

"Excuse me?" Akko climbed out of Barbara's sleeve and onto her hand.

"Oh, um, well..." Hannah had spoken without thinking. _Wait,_ she thought, _why am I feeling defensive? What I've done with Barbara isn't any of Akko's business!_

"What's the deal, Barbara?" Akko may have spoken a sharper than she'd intended.

Barbara didn't seem offended. "Hannah and I are very close, as you know—"

"Barbara!" Hannah objected.

"What's wrong, Hannah?" Akko demanded. "What don't you want me to know?" _Why am I getting so mad? Who cares what Hannah and Barbara get up to?_

"It-it's none of your business!" Hannah said.

"Fine." Akko felt upset for some reason she couldn't place. "You can hang out with Barbara. I don't want to get between you two. Not that there's any room left for that," she added cattily—a curious move for a mouse. She leapt off Barbara's hand and the Blue Team duo watched as her tail disappear into the grass.

"Well I suppose your first fight could've ended better," Barbara assessed.

"Barb, that's hardly our first fight."

"You know what I mean, Han."


	15. Day Fifteen: I Thought You Had Forgotten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akko talks to Diana about her fight with Hannah and resolves to mend things with her.

“I thought you had forgotten,” Diana said. "You missed our three previous sessions and I feared the trend would continue."

"I'm sorry, Diana," Akko said. "I had... a lot on my mind..."

Akko was afraid that Diana would be mad that she'd left her in the woods by herself three nights in a row, but Diana only smiled sympathetically.

"Would you like to talk about it?" she asked. She sat down on a fallen tree and patted a spot at her side.

Akko mumbled a non-answer, but said down next to Diana regardless. She had no idea what to say or how to say it, particularly without exposing her hurt, vulnerable feelings.

"Does this have something to do how Hannah keeps sighing into her pillow?" Diana asked.

"Um, well..." Akko looked at her feet in shame. "Hannah and I had a fight..." She told Diana about their failed prank and their squabble afterward. Her voice faded to a whisper and she stumbled over her words as she repeated her last words to Hannah before scurrying off.

"I don't get why I'm feeling like this," Akko blurted. "Why am I feeling all... icky?"

"Well, it sounds as if you're jealous of Hannah and Barbara's friendship," Diana suggested.

"What!? No way!" Akko shook her head vigorously. "I don't care what's going on between them! They can have all the secrets they want. It doesn't matter to me!"

"It doesn't matter? Then why were you were so despondent that you ignored your prior engagements with me..." Diana said, slyly amused rather than passive-aggressive.

Akko pouted. "Okay, okay. I'm upset. I'm jealous that Barbara knows Hannah better than I do."

"Hannah and Barbara have been friends since childhood," Diana reminded her. "It's only natural that the two of them would be so close and have a few secrets. I know that you and Hannah have gotten close lately, and you want to be closer, but you have to understand that she has a life outside you."

"I know that! But I still feel all icky for some reason."

"You should ask yourself why that is."

"I don't know why! And I made things all awkward with Hannah and now I'm too scared to talk to her." She was no stranger to Hannah's temper, and she dreaded a heated reaction 

Diana smiled. "But you want to mend things with her? Then you need talk to her. You don't necessarily need to figure out _why_ you're jealous right now, but you do need to make up with Hannah if you don't want things to worsen between you."

Akko fidgeted. "Maybe Hannah will try to talk to me first if I wait long enough..."

"You were the one to put distance between the two of you," Diana said sternly, "so you have to be the one to approach her. She may keep her distance out of respect for your choice to put space between you."

"Are you sure I can't play hard to get? I'll use metamorphosis magic and we can have a mink-and-mouse chase."

" _Akko._ "

*******

"Stupid Akko..." Hannah mumbled to herself as walked her usual route, kicking pebbles with extreme prejudice.

She should've been feeling good about herself: Amanda had relented and offered a truce. Neither she or Akko had to look over their shoulders to watch out for Amanda any more. But that meant that they wouldn't bond over their revenge any more. They might not bond over anything anymore, judging by how Akko had acted.

"What's up with her anyway?" Hannah moped. "Who cares what I've gotten up to with Barbara." That was all in the past, after all. They'd stopped fooling around with each other long before Barbara started dating Lotte. _Maybe she's weirded out or something because our... k-kiss was her first but it wasn't mine?_

"Don't get weird ideas!" she hissed, perhaps to Akko, perhaps to herself. She kicked a pebble out of anger.

"Okay, okay, I'm going!"

Hannah looked up and saw Akko, hopping up and down on one leg as she nursed the other; the pebble had hit her.

"A-Akko! What are you doing here!?"

"I was gonna talk to you but I can see you're not in the mood."

Hannah groaned. "I'm sorry, okay? I didn't realize you were there. I was... lost in thought..."

"Too busy thinking about Barbara?" Akko said before she could stop herself.

Hannah was taken aback. _So that's how it's going to be?_

"Wait! Dammit!" Akko put her leg down again and slapped her own forehead. "Sorry. I came here to make up with you and I'm already messing up."

"Make up with me?"

Akko screwed up her face as she worked up her courage. "I'm sorry I got all snippy with you the other day. I felt really awkward and that's why I was avoiding you. I didn't want to make you feel bad or anything. Diana told me you were feeling down, and—"

"Diana? What about Diana?"

Akko rubbed the back of her neck nervously. "Well, um, Diana realized what was going on and she talked me into making up with you. I was afraid of messing up again, but she explained why I should."

A cold shiver ran through Hannah's blood. _Diana? Diana fixed things?_ Hannah had been agonizing over her why Akko would act that way and how she could fix things with her friend. And _D i a n a_ had been the one who knew what to say? She was the one who reached out first? Hannah once again felt inadequate compared to Diana, who always knew what to do and say, who knew Akko better than she did, who was closer with Akko than she was, who she relied on...

Hannah let out a hollow laugh. "Thank Jennifer for Diana Cavendish, right?"

Akko didn't pick up on her friend's discomfort. "Yeah, she's pretty great. What would we do without her?"

 _I can think of a few things,_ Hannah thought bitterly.


	16. Day Sixteen: This Is Gonna Be So Much Fun!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luna Nova is putting on a school play! Hannah and Akko decide to try out...
> 
> Much Ado About Nothing saga, part 1/6

“This is gonna be so much fun!” Barbara squealed. "We should audition, Lotte!"

"I don't know," Lotte said sheepishly. "I'd be better suited for the production team."

"Nonsense, sweetie," her girlfriend insisted. "Everyone would be star-struck to see a cutie like you on centre stage." Lotte blushed and giggled into her hands.

"Yuck," Amanda said as she walked by. "Calm down, you'll get cooties everywhere."

Hannah, who was walking nearby with Akko, aimed a kick at Amanda's shins. "No raining on their parade. Don't let your jealousy get to you, lonely girl."

Amanda switched targets. "Well if it ain't my favourite couple, Hannah and Akko, a.k.a. the Head-Ache."

"What did I say?" Hannah rolled her eyes. "Jeal-ous!"

"What's going on, Lotte, Barbara?"

"The school is offering some arts programs," Lotte explained. "It's probably to take advantage of government grants—"

"There's going to be a school play!" Barbara said joyously. "Isn't that great, Hannah?"

Hannah left Akko's side to check out the bulletin board where the notice had been posted. A school play wasn't exactly Luna Nova's style, but then again, Luna Nova's style could use a little modernization (Hannah still yawned thinking about that dance during the Hanbridge's visit).

"A school play, that sounds fun!" Akko said, suddenly behind Hannah and looking over her shoulder. "What's the play."

" _Much Ado About Nothing_. It's Shakespeare."

"Shakespeare? Like Romeo and Juliet?"

"A little less dramatic than that," Hannah replied. "It's a comedy."

"Don't tell me you two are gonna get in on this two," Amanda said.

"Why not?" Hannah said. "We're good enough, right Akko?"

"Yeah!" Akko said. "Even Finnelan said I'm good at acting out!"

Hannah held back a smirk. "That's not what that means, Akko." _It's adorable the way she makes those little mistakes sometimes, she thought._

Amanda laughed. "Lemme guess, you two are gonna try out for the romantic leads?"

"I don't think they could handle it," Barbara added in an amused tone.

"We could pull it off!" Akko said. "We don't have to play second fiddle to nobody!" She latched onto Hannah's arm.

"Urk!" Hannah jumped at the sudden contact. _Amanda's going to have a field day with this!_ The American's accusations about their supposed relationship would only intensify if they played each other's love interest. _Unless..._ Hannah had a brilliant idea.

"Naturally," Hannah said smoothly. She took one of Akko's hands in hers. "Who could do a better job than us? We have _so much chemistry together_."

"Wh-what!?" Akko started blushing at Hannah's sudden change.

"Isn't that right, Akko?" Hannah cooed. "We're so close, even our friends think we're dating!" She winked.

Akko caught on. "Right!" She put her other hand over her heart. "We're the best of friends. The audience will buy it, no sweat! No one can beat us!"

Hannah smiled. _Reverse psychology._ Denying the alleged feelings between them hadn't gotten Hannah and Akko anywhere, so they put things in reverse. Amanda couldn't tease them for being close if the two of them leaned into it. Better yet, they'd rock the auditions and come away with the lead roles.

"Ick, you two are worse than Barbara and Lotte," Amanda said. "I think you two are forgetting someone who can wipe the floor with you."

"And just who might that be?" Hannah asked.

"Diana. The school's princess doesn't lose to anyone. And take it from me, she can act like nobody's business."

"We'll see about that," Hannah replied, slipping her arm around Akko. _I don't intend to lose. Akko and I are going to be the leads, and not even Diana Cavendish is going to stop us._

*******

After classes, Akko and Hannah walked hand in hand on the way to the auditions. Akko insisted on it, reasoning that they should show off their chemistry early on to skew things in their favour. Hannah was impressed with Akko's insight and simultaneously embarrassed by the public display of affection.

Ursula was the professor in charge of the theatre production, which is to say that the senior professors dumped the job onto her and she was too sheepish to object. "Akko! Hannah! It's nice to see you two! I was afraid we wouldn't have enough students for all the parts..."

"I'm sure you'll get enough people!" Akko said cheerily. "This is going to be tons of fun."

"I hope so," Ursula said. "Croix's trying to convince me to use robots as extras and I don't think I can talk her out of it."

"We'd like to try out for the part of the leads," Hannah said confidently.

"I wouldn't expect any less from Akko," Ursula chuckled. "And it's great to see you supporting her, Hannah." She was clearly confused by their friendship, but didn't say anything more on the subject. "If you're willing, I'd like you to try out for other parts as well. We want the best fit for all the parts, so you never know what will work best."

"Works for me," Akko said. "But I'm still aiming for the top."

Hannah didn't object. Just like Akko, she had no intention of giving up the part of lead, but she might've been satisfied with acting opposite Akko. _As long as Diana doesn't get in my way._

Little did they know, Hannah and Akko were about to learn a harsh lesson in Shakespearean irony.


	17. Day Seventeen: I'll Tell You But You're Not Going To Like It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hannah and Akko find themselves disappointed with the audition results, and the seeds of drama are planted.
> 
> Much Ado About Nothing saga, part 2/6

“I’ll tell you but you’re not going to like it,” Barbara said.

"Why not?" Hannah asked. "Just show me the casting list." Barbara stepped aside and Hannah got a look at the bulletin board. Her eyes locked onto the most important words on the list: the names of the leads.

_Benedick: Amanda O'Neill  
Beatrice: Hannah England_

"What!?" She did a double-take. " _Amanda!?_ What the hell!? We didn't even audition together. How did we get paired up?"

"I'm surprised as well," Barbara said. "Wasn't she making fun of the play? Why did she audition? And how in the name of the Nine Olde Witches did she get a leading role?"

"Someone must've strong-armed her into audition," Hannah said. "Otherwise she wouldn't have signed up." Hannah hated to admit it, but Amanda and her bantering attitude were perfect for the role she'd been given. Akko had been aiming for that role, but neither she or Hannah anticipated competition from Amanda.

"And Akko worked so hard. Did she get at least get a part?" Hannah asked, frantically searching the bulletin for her friend's name. "There!" Her heart fell when she saw the next name on the list.

_Claudio: Atsuko Kagari  
Hero: Diana Cavendish_

"Akko's acting opposite Diana!?" Hannah may have beaten Diana for one of the romantic leads, but Diana had the privilege of playing one half of the secondary couple with Akko.

"I'm what!?" Akko was suddenly at Hannah's side and leaning on her as she searched for her name on the casting list. She was unaware of Hannah's confused discomfort.

"Awww, why didn't we both get the leads?" Akko asked despondently. "I have way better chemistry with you than Amanda."

Hannah blushed. "You said it."

"Maybe it worked against you," Barbara said delicately. "After all, the main romantic dynamic in this play relies on two people not getting along, and you two get along... very well."

"At least I get to act opposite Diana a lot," Akko said. "You're gonna have pretend to be in love with Amanda. That's gonna be rough."

"Again, you said it." Hannah tried not to read too much into the ease with which Akko accepted the role of being Diana's love interest. In the play.

*******

"Akko, you seem distracted," Diana said.

"What do you mean?"

"For a start, you just read the same line three times in a row."

Akko blushed. Diana had hit the nail on the head. The room the theatre group had appropriated for practicing was hardly the most conductive environment for focus: Ursula fretted back and forth between groups of actors to give advice while Croix tyrannically dictated directorial demands. Even without all the noise, Akko wouldn't have been able to clear her mind.

Diana set her script down on the bench she and Akko were sitting on. "Please, tell me what's troubling you, Akko."

Akko put her script down as well. "It's just that, me and Hannah were really hoping to play the leads together, and it didn't turn out that way. She's stuck with Amanda, and I'm..."

"Stuck with plain old Diana Cavendish?" Diana said with a smirk.

"I didn't mean it like that!" Akko said hurriedly. "I mean, I was to have something special with Hannah. I have all these special things that happened with you and my other friends, but not with her. I'm just wondering how I messed up to not get the part."

"You didn't mess up," Diana reassured her. "I'm afraid Amanda is better suited to play the part of a braggart whose rudeness is matched only by their obliviousness."

"Really?" Akko flipped through the script. "I don't remember the character being that bad 

Diana waved her hand. "Never mind that. My advice is to enjoy the play as much as you can. You'll have a few of the same scenes as Hannah. And of course you two could help each other outside the usual practice time." She gave Akko an uncharacteristic wink.

On the other side of the room, Hannah rehearsed her lines in a robotic monotone. Her eyes were not so subtly flicking over the top of her script and toward Akko and Diana, who were still speaking without so much as a glance at their scripts.

"Watch it ginger, they'll catch onto you if you turn any greener," Amanda said, cocking her head in Akko and Diana's direction.

"Hmm, what?" Hannah paid full attention to her line-reading partner for the first time that hour.

"We're supposed to be practicing here," Amanda reminded her. "So quit staring a hole through Akko and Cavendish."

"Since when do you care about plays, anyway?" Hannah deflected.

"Since I got my arm twisted into doing it," Amanda said. "Believe me, I don't go in for this kinda thing, but now I'm stuck here, so I might as well do the best. I refuse to be the worst part of this whole disaster."

Hannah could only assume that a professor had compelled Amanda into participating, either as a punishment or to make up for her abysmal marks in some class.

"Anyway," Amanda continued. "Unless you want to make a fool of yourself on the stage, you're gonna start practicing with me for real and stop getting all jealous over Cavendish taking your dear Akko away from you."

"That run-on sentence started out good, but it got away from you at the end," Hannah said. "I'm not _jealous_ of Diana. I'm disappointed that Ursula and Croix broke up the Akko and Hannah dream team."

"Oh, right," Amanda said, rolling her eyes. "Your 'chemistry'. Just make sure your 'chemistry' with Akko doesn't blow up in your face. If you three get in a fight, I'm not gonna be the shoulder for any of you to cry on."

"Your concern is touching. I've got Barbara's shoulder reserved, Akko's covered too, and there's no way Diana would come to you."

A peculiar look passed over Amanda's face. "Never mind that. Get to reading that script, and don't use your jealousy laser vision. I'm not letting you borrow my script if you burn a hole through yours."


	18. Day Eighteen: You Should Have Seen It!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amanda throws Akko a bone and involves Hannah in their practice, things happen.
> 
> Much Ado About Nothing saga, part 3/6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was going to be later than usual, but then I employed the English major's favourite trick to boost word count: excessive quotations.

“You should have seen it,” Amanda said. "Your eyes just about popped out of your head. Did it hurt when your jaw hit the floor?"

"Quit it," Akko said weakly. "You're exaggerating..." _Of course I'm going to be surprised when she looks like that, she thought. Croix must've been responsible for these costumes._

They had begun practicing in their costumes in order to become accustomed to them. The costumes for the male characters were period-appropriate aristocratic attire, but with a suspiciously Croix-like spin on them. Akko and Amanda's outfits were siblings to their professor's own eccentric outfit, complete with capes. And then there were the female characters' costumes, and Hannah's in particular...

"I remember you said that girls with long hair are your type," Amanda needled.

"That's not fair to bring up right now..." Somehow it had never registered with Akko that Hannah had long hair; she always had her hair up in a ponytail. The fact that Hannah was technically Akko's type became impossible to ignore the second she saw her friend with her hair down.

Hannah was beautiful. Her silky orange tresses cascaded down from the crown of her head to the neckline of her dress. And what a dress it was; the romantic leading lady needed a sultry costume to match. The female characters' costumes were less obtrusive than was accurate to Shakespeare's time (no doubt because Croix believed in practical clothing) and the result was tighter-fitting, figure-hugging dresses. And Hannah's appeared to be the slinkiest of them all, tantalizingly so... _I should send Croix flowers and a thank you note, Akko thought. Wait! she caught herself. I shouldn't be thinking about Hannah that way—I mean, I'm not thinking about Hannah that way!_

Amanda didn't need a telepathy spell to know what was going on in Akko's head. The hungriness in her eyes said enough on its own. "Hey, Akko," she said with an ominous grin. "How about I make it up to you for stealing your leading lady?"

"Wait, what do you mean?"

"Oi! Hannah!" Amanda yelled.

"What do you want, loudmouth?" Hannah fired back.

"Grab Croix and get your butts over here! We're doing the bit of Act Two, Scene One with you in it!"

Hannah consulted her script. "Should I bring Diana, she's—"

"Busy," Amanda cut in. "She doesn't have any lines until Beatrice leaves. Come on, we don't have all day!" She whispered in Akko's ear: "Now you can ogle her up close. Make sure you don't drool in front of her."

"A-Amanda!"

Hannah collected Croix, who was eager to . "You enter with us," she told Akko.

Akko numbly went to her side, nearly tripping over her cape in her nervousness. They took their places and resumed practice.

 _"O God, sir, he's a dish I love not: I cannot endure my Lady Tongue."_ Amanda recited, wheeling away from the scene with a flourish of her cape. She sat down out of their way and 

Akko could hardly focus as Hannah and Jasminka exchanged dialogue about Amanda's character.

 _"I have brought Count Claudio, whom you sent me to seek,"_ Hannah said, placing a hand on Akko's arm. Her stomach did a back flip. She only narrowly avoided mumbling her dialogue with Hannah.

Croix read her part with the dramatic tones one would expect of her: _"Count, take of me my daughter, and with her my fortunes: his grace hath made the match, and all grace say Amen to it."_

Hannah elbowed Akko. _"Speak, count, 'tis your cue."_

Akko swallowed. _"Silence is the prefectest herald of joy: I were but little happy, if I could say how much. Lady as you are mine, I am yours: I give away myself for you and dote upon the exchange."_

She was meant to speak these lines to Diana, but in her absence she directed them at Hannah, who blushed slightly but said nothing. _Oh no,_ Akko thought. _Did I mess up?_

Hannah cleared her throat. _"Speak cousin; or, if you cannot, stop his mouth with a kiss, and let not him speak neither."_

And that was the point in the play that Diana would pretend to kiss her. She was sure that Diana would make it less awkward to deal with, but as she listened to "Beatrice" lament being the only unmarried woman, she wondered how Hannah would cope with having to pretend to kiss Amanda in front of an audience. For some reason, she was glad that she didn't yet have to practice fake kissing with Diana right in front of Hannah...

*******

"Did you see the costumes for the male characters?" Avery asked. "Professor Croix sure has style. I'm glad she got out of witch prison to do us a solid like this."

"Hey, Hannah," Barbara said. "Did you see Akko in costume?"

"I sure did," Hannah said absentmindedly. Seeing Akko dressed in gentlemanly garb roused something in Hannah that she'd only felt once before. Her bi awakening had been when she realized that the "boy" in a photo was actually a cross-dressing _Amanda_. Her infatuation flickered out the moment she realized it was Amanda but nevertheless that was how she realized she could like girls. Curious that Akko had been involved in the incident as well...

Hannah's immediate reaction to seeing Akko in costume was a heat spreading through her body like a forest fire. It had taken all her self-restraint to maintain her composure during their practice. Her heart nearly burst when Akko had misdirected Claudio's love vows for Hero to her instead.

Akko looked so dashing, so regal. It was difficult to believe that Akko was only a commoner, difficult to believe that Hannah had ever thought of Akko as "just a commoner". Her svelte, lean figure was emphasized, her posture transformed into that of a stoic noble, her hair tied back in a low ponytail at the base of her supple neck. She looked... she looked... _She looks damn fine,_ Hannah thought, and instantly regretted that thought.

"Akko does look quite lordly, does she not?" Diana commented.

"Naturally," Hannah said without missing a beat. "That's my Akko."

Diana's eyebrows rose at her roommate's two last words. "Is that so?"

Barbara saw Hannah's foot making a beeline for her own mouth and couldn't help herself. "And how about that Amanda?"

"Amanda's Amanda," Hannah replied. The girl playing her love interest looked quite similar to how she did in the photo that awakened her bisexuality—right down to the slicked-back hair—and yet she felt nothing for her now.

"Didn't you get all flustered over her that one time you saw her cross-dressing?" Barbara asked, smirking deviously.

"Is that so?"

Diana's voice cracked like an adolescent boy's. She coughed in a rather unladylike way. "This conversation is a diversion and we really must get back to rehearsing our parts," she said very quickly. "Time is of the essence, girls."


	19. Day Nineteen: Oh Please, Like This Is The Worst I've Done

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akko receives some advice from Croix; Hannah receives some advice from Ursula. Some of it is even about the play.
> 
> Much Ado About Nothing saga, part 4/6

“Oh please, like this is the worst I have done,” Amanda said.

"True," Hannah said. "You didn't step on my foot before you dropped me. I thought your one redeeming feature was that you were smooth? You can't do a simple kiss scene?"

The cast had run through the entire play for the first time, but they kept getting stuck at the final scene—the scene where the two couples proclaimed their love for each other. Except they kept stopping short before they could get to the happily ever after.

"Right back at ya, princess," Amanda said. "I thought you noble-types were all about poise. You're not exactly helping me get my groove on."

"I'm having a bad day, okay," Hannah replied. Ordinarily she and Amanda had no trouble acting their parts. They were uniquely suited for most of Benedick and Beatrice's dialogue, which involved trading insults. The romantic scenes were dull work but she was up to the job, and at least Amanda knew what she was doing. She didn't have any trouble faking the kiss when they practiced before. So why was it such a problem in front of everyone else?

Akko and Diana stood awkwardly off to the side, dressed for their characters' wedding. The groom's gaze constantly flitted around the room as they rehearsed the scene over and over again, settling on Hannah for the slightest moment before diverting yet again. The bride, however, watched their amorous exchange with uncanny stillness, as if she were carved from marble.

Hannah squirmed under her friends' gaze. The words and actions that had come to her so easily in her line-readings with Amanda nearly eluded her now. Amanda fared no better, her usual suaveness replaced with Akko-like clumsiness. Her eyes kept moving from her leading lady to her other cast mates.

"You were doing fine earlier," Amanda refuted. She wasn't wrong. "Just conjure up some of that magic from earlier."

"Keep mouthing off to me and I'll conjure up some magic, alright—"

The director came over to break things up. "Calm down, kids," Croix said. "We picked you two for the leads because we knew you could pull off the snappy bits, but you need to act all lovey-dovey now. Let's see some passion!"

"Croix, perhaps if we gave them a break..." Ursula suggested.

"Nonsense! They need to work through this before they can relax. This is theatre! It's serious business! Do it again, from line 84!"

No one moved. Croix was about to yell at them before Ursula reminded her that was her line. _"Oh. Right. Come, cousin, I am sure you love the gentleman."_

Akko followed up with zeal. _"And I'll be sworn upon't that he loves her; for here's a paper written in his hand, a halting sonnet of his own pure brain, fashion'd to Beatrice."_ She produced the prop on cue.

Diana didn't hesitate with her part. _"And here's another writ in my cousin's hand, stolen from her pocket, containing her affection unto Benedick."_

Amanda's eyes flicked toward Diana before she read her part. _"A miracle! here's our own hands against our hearts. Come, I will have thee; but, by this light, I take thee for pity."_

Hannah resisted the urge to look at Akko as she read hers. _"I would not deny you; but this good day, I yield upon great persuasion; and partly to save your life, for I was told you were in a consumption."_

_"Peace! I will stop your mouth."_ Amanda embraced her and obscured the hypothetical audience's view of their faces with her hand to create the illusion of a kiss.

_Strange how this doesn't affect me at all._ Hannah's thoughts were anywhere but on the fine specimen of a girl pretending to kiss her. _I wonder if this is how Akko feels during her kiss scene..._

They broke off their passionless embrace and were interrupted before they could continue the scene.

"That performance was almost as stiff as my back after a night of research," Croix said, pinching the bridge of her nose. "At least nobody tripped over themselves this time. Alright, people! Take ten!"

The cast dispersed. Akko got herself a glass of water to calm her nerves, which were out of sorts for a reason she couldn't—or maybe refused to—identify.

"So," Croix said, throwing an arm around Akko's shoulders. "You and Hannah England, huh?"

Akko spat out a spray of water. "Wh-what!?"

"I had my money on you ending up with Diana," the professor continued. "You sure are full of surprises."

"Me and Hannah aren't—we're not—"

"Don't be shy. I saw how fidgety you were when your girl was doing her scene with Amanda."

"You're making a mistake—"

"You're the one making a mistake," Croix said. "Here's what you've got to do: offer to help Hannah with the scene she keeps messing up. But don't mess around with any pretend kisses, if you know what I mean." She winked.

"Croix!" Akko was scandalized. _Professors shouldn't talk like that! If Ursula knew..._

"Get all that tension out of your system and you two won't be messing up my play!" She patted Akko on the back encouragingly. "Good luck! I've got to talk to Amanda now." She departed without another word.

Akko was confused. Why did everyone think she and Hannah were a couple? _Maybe she had a point though,_ Akko wondered. _About the practice! Not the other part!_

Elsewhere, Hannah found herself confronted by Professor Ursula. "I'd like to give you some advice, if that's alright," Ursula said nervously.

Hannah nodded at her to continue.

"I know it can be difficult to perform a kissing scene in front of your girlfriend, but you need to set your feelings aside if you're going to—"

"A-Akko's not my girlfriend!" Hannah blurted.

It wasn't lost on Ursula that she hadn't referred to Akko specifically. "My mistake. It's just that you two get along so well, and you showed up to auditions holding hands..."

"Th-that was just to showcase our chemistry!" Hannah replied. "We were going for the lead roles, after all!"

Ursula ignored the implication that Hannah and Akko were essentially shooting for a kissing scene. "We picked you and Amanda for the leads because we were confident you two could... insult each other... and we knew Akko and Diana could manage the secondary couple."

"I know..." Hannah grumbled.

"I understand that you and Akko aren't dating," Ursula said. "If you were, I would've told you that you two could... um... practice that scene on your own, with Akko in Amanda's role, and the two of you could... um... get a sense for how that scene should feel..."

Hannah blushed. _Is she implying what I think she's implying!? Ursula of all people!? I'd expect that from Croix, but not her girlfriend!_

"But since that isn't the case," Ursula continued, keeping a close eye on Hannah and her telling blush, "you couldn't resolve things that way. But practicing with her might help anyway..." Her eyebrow quirked ever so slightly.

"Th-that's something to consider," Hannah answered. She spotted Akko walking by, looking somewhat out of sorts herself. "Oh there she is now. Thanks for the advice, professor." She left so quickly she didn't hear Ursula's knowing chuckle.

"Akko, could I ask you a favour? I need to practice that final scene so I can get it just right..."


	20. Chapter Twenty: I Hope You Have A Speech Prepared

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which nothing remarkable happens at all.
> 
> Much Ado About Nothing saga, part 5/6

“I hope you have a speech prepared,” Croix told her leads, "because you kids are going to give us an amazing show."

"Our efforts are no more important than that of others in this production," Diana said. "We owe our success to yourself, our director, as well as Professor Ursula. One cannot ignore the contributions of the supporting cast, the production team, the costume department, the—"

"Calm down, Cavendish," Amanda said. "She didn't mean it literally and she didn't mean right now."

Diana shot Amanda a steely look. "My apologies, O'Neill. I can see that I've offended you by acknowledging the talents of people other than yourself."

Akko and Hannah nudged their respective acting partners. Diana and Amanda quieted down, but their eyes met over the others' heads.

"That was a great rehearsal, girls," Ursula said encouragingly. "But there are a few things you could polish to make your performances perfect." The lists may or may not have been slightly exaggerated in order to push the girls into practicing with each other.

Croix handed each of the girls a paper with a list of things to work on and some suggestions. Akko looked at hers and saw a note in Croix's handwriting: "Relieve your _tension_ with Hannah." She quickly shoved the paper into her pocket before Hannah could read it.

"Now get to practice, kids," Croix said. "We only have a few days to make this thing perfect, so take today to _iron out the kinks_."

Ursula almost rammed her heel into her girlfriend's foot, but to do so would reveal something was amiss, if Croix's comment wasn't obvious enough.

Hannah linked arms with Akko. "You're mine for the rest of the day," she said. Her only hope to offset Croix's innuendo was to counter by leaning into it. She lead Akko away to the Blue Team's dorm room, while Diana and Amanda apparently parted ways.

When the girls were out of sight, Ursula elbowed her girlfriend. "You can't just come out and say that! You're going to make them too nervous to go through with it!"

"Don't worry about it," Croix replied, rubbing her sore arm. "I put the thought in their heads. They're not going to be able to focus on anything but each other. Let's check them out for love bites tomorrow. OW! Stop doing that!"

*******

Croix's prediction was right on the money; Akko and Hannah were dwelling on? dreading? anticipating? their practicing the kissing scenes. They delayed the inevitable by practicing other scenes with each other first.

Akko took up the role of Benedick and bantered with Hannah. Unlike Amanda, Akko recited the barbs playfully, her tone more teasing than antagonistic. No wonder Amanda got the part; Akko was too kind.

They practiced dancing, the elegant movements of which had stumped Akko. Hannah's upper-class education demanded that she could dance as easily breathing; not only could she help Akko, she delighted in it. On reflex she held Akko close, put her friend's hand on her waist, and grasped her other hand tightly. Only too late did she realize what she'd one, and she had to go with it, regardless of the heat radiating from their too-close faces.

"I think you've got it now," Hannah said as the music ended. "It's been a pleasure dancing with you, Akko."

"Oh, that's good," Akko replied. Silence rose between them until they realized they were still holding hands. They jumped apart and rushed to their scripts.

"Um, which of the problem scenes should we practice first?" Hannah asked, nervously running her fingers through the end of her ponytail.

"Mine is first in the play, so let's do that first," Akko reasoned, attempting to assert logic over her unruly emotions for once. "Um, let's go from line 305."

Hannah cleared her throat and got back into character. _"Speak, count, 'tis your cue."_

Akko glanced at the script and began her reading, once again directing the romantic declarations at Hannah. _"Silence is the perfectest herald of joy:"_ —both girls contemplated all the awkward silences between them— _"I were but little happy, if I could say how much. Lady, as you are mine, I am yours: I give away myself for you and dote upon the exchange."_

Hannah's breath caught in her throat. She paused before reading her line. _"Speak, cousin; or, if you cannot, stop his mouth with a kiss, and let not him speak neither."_

Hannah switched seamlessly from the role of Beatrice to the role of Hero. Akko stepped toward her and assumed the position for a fake kiss. Hannah found herself leaning into Akko's palm.

Their faces drew closer, their noses almost bumping, eliciting a nervous laugh from both of them. Neither could they ignore the negligible distance between their mouths, nor could they the tempting sensation of each other's breath tickling the sensitive skin of their lips...

"I-I-I think that's good," Hannah stuttered, withdrawing from their feigned kiss. _What's going on?_ she asked herself. _For a second there I almost considered..._

"Y-yeah, y-you're right," Akko replied. _What the heck? Diana never made that kind of face. Either I did terribly, or I did really well..._

Both girls lingered on their scripts, pretending to have trouble finding the next scene. As if caught in the gravity of a black hole of sexual tension, their minds were inescapably drawn to thoughts about their truth or dare kiss and the resulting awkwardness. _That was too close,_ they both thought. _Any closer and I would've ruined everything..._

Hannah couldn't stall any longer. "From line 91."

Akko stared at Hannah for a moment before reading. _"A miracle! here's our own hands against our hearts."_ She took Hannah's hand in hers. _"Come, I will have thee; but, by this light, I take thee for pity."_ Her voice was missing the self-deceiving tones of Benedick; she almost sounded earnest...

Hannah's pulse quickened. _"I would not deny you; but, by this good day, I yield upon great persuasion; and partly to save your life, for I was told you were in a consumption."_ She found herself lost in Akko's caring, crimson eyes...

They stood very close, too close. Akko touched Hannah's face gently, delicately, and in a manner completely inconsistent with the stage directions. Not knowing why, she tucked a stray strand of hair behind Hannah's ear, trailing her finger down her acting partner's jaw line...

 _"Peace!"_ Akko breathed. _"I will stop your mouth."_ She was extremely aware of the movement of her tongue as she pronounced the voiceless fricative in the word "mouth." She was also extremely aware of Hannah's mouth, which drew closer to hers—or maybe hers moved closer to Hannah's. They were mere centimetres apart, millimetres apart... The slightest jitter would bring their lips together, culminating in their second kiss...

They froze as the door opened and they were interrupted by someone with graceful footsteps and a mild voice. _"How dost thou, Benedick, the married man?"_

Akko and Hannah jumped apart rather than together, their near-kiss disappearing like dew in the morning sun.

"DIANA!?" They yelled in unison.

Diana wore something of a triumphant grin, amusement and vindication dancing in her eyes as she surveyed the scene before her. "I appear to have interrupted something."

"N-n-no!" Akko stuttered. "We were just, uh, um, practicing!"

"I see." Diana's amusement didn't abate. If anything she was delighted by the nervous response.

"S-so how was your practice?" Hannah asked, attempting deflection. "Did you make any progress with your scenes?"

"Unfortunately, no. Amanda and I are a poor match."

"Well, that's too bad," Akko said. "Say, I've got to get going. I have homework to do." She laughed apprehensively. Truth be told she wasn't as worried about what Diana had witnessed as she was perplexed by what had almost happened.

She was simultaneously relieved and reluctant to leave Hannah's side. As Akko crossed the room, she heard Diana whisper something only she could hear: "Next time, make your move a little quicker, dear."

Akko's knees almost gave out. She only barely made it to the door, and once she closed it she slumped against the wall. Her thoughts were a whirlwind of overwhelming stimuli. At the eye of the hurricane were two questions: _Is Diana... telling me to kiss Hannah? Do I want to?_


	21. Day Twenty-One: Impressive, Truly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The play wraps up production and our drama queens get an encore.
> 
> Much Ado About Nothing saga, part 6/6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is pretty late, but pretty long, so I guess it balances out. Also I'm not sure if it flows well, but I can't look at this any more. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.
> 
> If you see something that needs to be edited, don't hesitate to point it out xD

“Impressive, truly,” Ursula said, tears in her eyes.

"You kids did a bang-up job," Croix said, raising a glass in honour of the cast and crew. She was giddy enough for everyone to question just what was in that glass of hers.

The cast and crew raised their own glasses in celebration, kicking off the after party. The play had been a tremendous success, going off without a hitch. The stage production was impeccable and the actors were flawless. Hannah and Amanda had given their best performance yet ("The definitive Beatrice and Benedick!" Croix proclaimed), and the audience swooned and sweated at the romance and drama between Akko and Diana's Claudio and Hero. Their practice sessions had eliminated the problems in their performances, but the resulting side effects couldn't be ignored.

Diana could see a gap between Hannah and Akko, as well as the tension that filled that gap. She approached her roommate and shook her from her absentminded state.

"Is something on you mind, Hannah?" she asked. "Or perhaps _someone_?"

Hannah squinted at Diana suspiciously.

"I apologize for my atrocious timing the other night," Diana said. "I interrupted you two at a critical moment—"

"W-w-we were just practicing," Hannah stuttered.

Diana chuckled. "I've walked in on your "practices" before..."

"Hey!" Hannah blushed furiously. "Don't bring that up! Especially not around Akko!"

"Naturally. That matter is between you and Barbara." She took a sip from her glass. "Very private. I can see why you wouldn't want Akko of all people to know..."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you recognize that Akko has the same capacity for jealousy as you do," Diana explained. "Tell me, are you still jealous that I'm the one tutoring Akko rather than you?"

Hannah pouted, downing the rest of her drink before answering. "Why do you ask?"

Diana frowned. "Have you given up on our little competition? I expected more from you, Hannah."

"I... I haven't... I..." Hannah had been too focused on Akko to think of a way of usurping Diana's place in Akko's heart. She may have beaten Diana for the lead role, but her rival had stolen the role opposite Akko. _But Akko practiced with me, not her, she remembered. I'm getting closer to Akko. And there's also... that..._

It was as if Diana was reading her mind. "I suppose you've made some progress," she said mildly. "After all, _I've_ never kissed Akko under any circumstances..."

"D-Diana!"

"Oh, there's no need to get so flustered over a kiss that resulted over a dare. Are you still feeling awkward over that?"

Hannah her head away. "Not saying."

Diana chuckled at her friend's childishness. "When was the last time you said a word to Akko that wasn't written by William Shakespeare?"

"B-before we practiced the other day..."

"By the Nine Olde Witches," Diana sighed. "Go talk to her, Hannah. Or I swear I'll tell Amanda about your short-lived crush on her."

Hannah didn't need to be told twice. She made her way over to her friend. "Um, hello, Akko," Hannah said shyly. "This party sure is lively, huh?"

Akko nodded. "Do you wanna... go somewhere quieter?" Her tone implied "somewhere we won't be overheard."

"Sure." Hannah tentatively placed her hand on Akko's arm, and once she was sure Akko wouldn't shrug it off, she led Akko to a nearby room the cast had been using to change in and out of their costumes as well as storing them. The pair sat down on a bench near a closet used to store the costumes.

"You were great in the play, by the way," Hannah said, desperately reaching for something to talk about. "Really fantastic."

Akko laughed bashfully. "High praise from the leading lady. I couldn't imagine anyone else in the role."

 _Not even Diana?_ Hannah thought. "I've never really thought of myself as a leading lady," she said. "I've always been more of a side character." She wasn't just being modest; she had long felt unable to escape the confines of Diana's shadow.

"You're more important than that," Akko said. She realized as the words left her mouth that she ought to have said "no one is a side character," but what she said felt right.

"Th-thank you." Hannah wasn't sure what to think about that comment.

They smiled at each other and silence fell between them. Not an awkward silence, a pleasant one. They held each other's gaze until they were overcome by embarrassment, their eyes diverting to rest on each other's bodies—costumes. Hannah thought Akko was dashing. Akko thought Hannah looked beautiful.

"See something you like," Hannah joked. _Not that Akko would be looking at me in that way..._

"I-I was just looking at your dress," Akko lied. "Croix really outdid herself with your costume."

"It may look pretty, but this thing is a nightmare," Hannah said. "Akko, would you be a dear and help me out of this dress?"

"What!?"

"What?" Hannah was confused until she saw the look on Akko's face. "I mean can you unlace it for me! I didn't mean—" Hannah was too embarrassed to say what she didn't mean.

"Oh, um, right." Akko got off the bench, kneeled behind Hannah, and began unlacing her dress. A shiver ran down Hannah's spine as she felt Akko's fingers against her back. She slipped out of the costume, thankful for the slip she'd been wearing underneath.

"Thank you, Akko."

"N-no problem." Akko fidgeted, unsure of what to do when there was a pretty girl sitting in front of her wearing a tiny wisp of a dress. She frantically searched for something to distract herself. In true Akko fashion, she managed to do the exact wrong thing to divert her attention.

"Your hair is a bit messed up," she said, reaching out to brush it back into place.

Hannah was about to stutter out thanks, but she realized Akko was actively playing with her hair. She ran her fingers through the auburn tresses, toying with the ends. "A-Akko!" Hannah wasn't sure if she wanted Akko to stop or not.

"Your hair is so soft," Akko said idly, twirling her fingers through Hannah's hair. She became aware of what she was doing and started messing it up on purpose. 

"S-Stop!" Hannah giggled. She ought to have been mad at Akko for tangling up her hair, but she could only think about how it felt to have Akko's fingers on her, trailing through her hair... "I'm going to get mad, you know."

"Haha. I'm sorry." Akko straightened Hannah's hair out again, stroking the strands back to normal. She brought her fingers down to the ends of her hair, accidentally brushing the bare skin of Hannah's shoulders, eliciting an embarrassed squeak.

"Aah! I'm sorry!" Akko yelped. "I should probably change too." She removed her own costume—an arduous affair due to its similarity to Croix's outfit. Underneath her costume she had been wearing her sleeping outfit, a t-shirt and shorts. However, the only thing Hannah registered was—

"...legs..."

"Wh-what?" Akko realized that Hannah was currently mesmerized by her legs.

"Y-you have... really nice legs..." she absentmindedly stroked Akko's calf. "Do you work out?" _Akko is... actually kinda hot, isn't she?_

"I mean, I did a lot more sports and physical activity before I came to Luna Nova, and—aaaaaa! Hannah!" Akko wriggled as Hannah prodded and pinched her leg. "C'mon! That tickles!" she laughed. "I'm warning you!"

Suddenly the girls heard the sound of approaching voices and the girls realized that the two of them were alone in a room together, half-dressed with Hannah's hands on Akko's leg.

"Someone's going to see us like this!" Hannah said, panicked.

"Quick," Akko said. "In here!" She unceremoniously dragged Hannah with her into the closet that held the extra costumes. No sooner were they hidden than the door slammed open and two people entered. Unfortunately for Akko and Hannah, they were stuck standing between two dresses, face-to-face and altogether too close for comfort—but moving posed the risk of making noise which would tip off the interlopers.

"I just want to talk," Diana said.

"Yeah, well maybe I don't want to talk, Cavendish," Amanda replied.

"Then what do you want, O'Neill?"

"Who says I want anything?"

"You're being obtuse."

"And here I thought I was being acute."

"You really are impossible. What I'm trying to say is—" Diana spotted Hannah and Akko's discarded costumes in front of the closet and her famously brilliant mind connected the dots.

"What?" Amanda demanded. Diana deftly directed her frenemy's attention to the abandoned costumes with her eyes. Amanda smirked and winked at her.

All of this occurred without Hannah and Akko's notice.

Diana and Amanda proceeded to argue about seemingly nothing for an exhaustingly long time. Akko and Hannah didn't so much as suspect that their friends knew they were hiding in the closet. They were distracted by their proximity to each other, their rising temperatures, their hot breath dancing on each other's skin...

"How long are they going to do this?" Akko whispered. "I can't stand here much longer..." _Hannah's too close! she thought. I can see everyone of her little freckles! Even the ones on her shoulders, and... I need to get out of here fast!_

"Just hold on, okay," Hannah hissed. "We don't want to get caught in this situation!" _I can feel my legs brushing against hers, but I can't move!_ she screamed internally. _Those legs of hers just aren't fair!_ She slipped her hand in Akko's and interlaced their fingers to reassure her.

Eventually, Amanda and Diana stormed out of the room, high-fiving once they were out of earshot.

"Thank the Nine," Hannah breathed. "I thought they were going to argue forever."

"I thought we were goners." Akko sighed with relief and relaxed, leaning against Hannah, who squeaked at the sudden contact.

"A-Akko!" The closet was sweltering and by then the two girls were beginning to sweat. They were in no state to be this close. _She's too close! I can't handle this!_

"I just need a second," Akko said slowly. "I'm a little light-headed." _Why are my knees so weak all of a sudden?_ She rested her head on Hannah's shoulder.

"Oh, okay," Hannah said weakly. Her head was swimming as well. _I can't turn Akko down..._ She squeezed Akko's hand gently, rubbing her thumb over Akko's.

Akko blushed. _Hannah's so sweet._ She drew away from Hannah. Even in the darkness, with only a sliver of light from between the closet doors, Akko could see that... "You're really pretty, Hannah."

"Wh-what are you saying all of a sudden!?" Hannah knew she was pretty. Lots of girls were pretty. But hearing it from Akko—especially right now—was more than she could bear.

"I mean it Hannah," Akko insisted. "You're really, really pretty." She looked almost hypnotized, her eyes clouded, her lips slightly parted. She looked at Hannah as if she was the only girl in the world...

"D-don't look at me like that," Hannah said, voicing the absolute opposite of her feelings. She didn't want Akko to look away from her. She didn't want Akko to look at anyone else. "If you keep looking at me like that I'm going to..."

"You're going to what?" Akko asked, already knowing the answer. Hannah was making the same face she was during their practice, their near-kiss. She let go of Hannah and placed her hands on either side of Hannah's face so she couldn't look away. "Hannah..."

"Akko..." She couldn't resist any longer, and Akko offered no resistance herself. She did the only thing she could do; she closed her eyes, threw her arms around Akko's neck, and kissed her full on the mouth.

Their first kiss had come too soon, like taking a bite from unripe fruit. At that point their fledgling feelings had yet to develop into conscious desire; the kiss had only confused them and pushed them further into denial. 

They had no such inhibitions now. Hannah kissed Akko passionately with the intent of permanently burning the impression of her lips into Akko's memory. She wanted all of Akko's attention, and Akko was only too happy to comply.

Akko was besides herself with joy. She had somehow charmed Hannah from an enemy into not only a friend, but someone who couldn't look away from her. She never would've imagined she'd be making out with Hannah, but since when did her life ever go according to expectations?

The two girls said nothing, thought nothing. They gave themselves over to their repressed attraction and enjoyed the ride. Akko's kisses were tentative at first due to inexperience, but she quickly got over that. Hannah kissed her relentlessly, pulling her close to her body as Akko tangled her fingers in her hair. Their was little finesse to their kissing, but it wasn't that kind of make out session anyway.

They emerged from the closet half an hour later, when the heat and stuffy air became too much to bear. The girls were slick with sweat until Hannah gracefully magicked it away and cooled them down. Without saying a word, Hannah and Akko changed back into their uniforms, stored their costumes properly and returned to the party.

They were beyond flustered at this point; they were comatose. Once the emotional high wore off, the logical parts of their brains tried to process what had just happened and hit a wall. They were incapable of articulating a response or acknowledging what had just happened. The only indication that something had happened in the hour they were missing from the party was the way they clutched at each other's hand, strained with nervous tension but unwilling to let go.


	22. Day Twenty-Two: I Know How You Love To Play Games

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diana and Amanda try to figure out whether or not Akko and Hannah made any *ahem* significant progress during their absence from the play's after party.

“I know how you love to play games,” Diana said. "But this is ridiculous."

"You're one to talk," Amanda said. "Don't pretend like you haven't been toying with them on your own time."

"I've been encouraging them," Diana said indignantly. "Don't mischaracterize my efforts and conflate them with your own shenanigans."

"Listen," Amanda replied. "I know you want to know what happened between Akko and Hannah as bad as I do. We didn't force them to stay in that closet for nothing."

"Naturally, I'm curious," Diana conceded. "I don't think I can bear to see those two clumsily waltzing around their feelings any longer."

"Then what's your problem?"

Diana scoffed. "The problem is that your plan is atrocious. Do you really think they can fooled into giving up that information in a game of truth or dare? After what you pulled last game they'll have their guard up."

Amanda shrugged. "We'll play never have I ever, then."

"I shudder to think how clumsily you'll try to bring up their departure from the after party," Diana said.

Amanda didn't respond. 

"You were just going to do 'never have I ever kissed someone during the play's after party,' weren't you?" Diana deadpanned.

"No..." Amanda said unconvincingly. "C'mon, we'll come up with something, Cavendish. Just invite everyone for another Blue Team room party. They can't refuse without being suspicious. That means they'll be stuck in the same room and we can wait until they're distracted so we can prod them with innocuous questions and watch their reactions."

"That is... a much better plan," Diana admitted.

"Would it kill you just to say it's a good plan?"

"Quite possibly."

*******

"I know you hit your head earlier today, but that's no excuse for having forgotten how to open doors," Sucy said.

"What's the rush," Akko asked. "Are you that eager to see the Blue Team?"

"Not me," Sucy replied. "But Lotte's going to burst a valve if she doesn't see her girlfriend soon."

"Sucy!" Lotte cried.

"Well I can't disappoint Lotte," Akko chuckled, as if she weren't just as anxious. The Red Team had reached the door of the Blue Team's dorm and stalled. Akko was hesitant to even show up, torn between a desire to see Hannah again and the awkwardness of seeing Hannah again. She had been hesitating to knock on the door, but she couldn't continue without arousing her roommate's suspicions.

She knocked on the door and Barbara answered. "Lotte, you're here! Oh, and Sucy and Akko." Akko could've sworn that Barbara giggled softly after her name. The three filed into the room and were greeted by the Green and Blue Teams.

Akko and Hannah made eye contact and fumbled over each other's names. They hadn't had a proper conversation about what had happened between them yet. The two of them had feigned casual conversation with each other before then when they'd needed to, but now they were put on the spot and couldn't avoid meaningful interaction with each other.

Out of the corner of her eye, Akko saw Diana and Amanda exchanging an amused look. _Oh no!_ she thought. _Do they suspect something? They were so close to discovering us the other day..._

"By the way, Akko," Hannah said, her line of sight just off from the girl she was talking to. "Are you still having with that Obfuscation spell we covered in class the other day?"

Hannah had been conflicted ever since the closet incident. She didn't know what to think about what had happened between them or how to approach Akko now. _But I need to approach her somehow..._

"Um, yeah, I've got it covered." Not necessarily true, but close enough.

"Oh, okay." Hannah looked disappointed, but Akko didn't have a chance to ask or even wonder why. Amanda interrupted the group with a declaration:

"Alright, the meet & greet is over. Time to get your game on."

Not too long later Akko found herself in a tricky situation. The world's most precariously balanced Jenga tower sat in front of her and it was her turn to remove another block. Akko had been sure that she would've been saved by the tower collapsing on the previous person, but Constanze had removed her brick and placed it on top with mathematical precision. Now Akko was left with the impossible task of removing another block without toppling the whole thing.

Hannah, who was sitting between Akko and Diana, watched Akko nervously. When Amanda had suggested games, Hannah had suspected something in the vein of truth or dare, never have I ever, or even a suggestive round of Twister aimed at squeezing the truth out or flustering them. Nevertheless, her suspicions did not abate.

Akko didn't even bother trying. She actually knocked the tower over by bumping it with her finger.

"Ooh, get wrecked, Akko," Amanda said. "You lost. You know what that means?"

Akko started to sweat. "Um, what?"

Hannah held her breath.

Amanda flicked the end of Akko's nose. "It means you're a looooooooooooooooser!"

Hannah released her breath.

Akko groaned. "Don't be mean!" _Thank the Nine,_ she thought. _I thought there was going to be harsher penalty than that._ Namely something embarrassing concerning Hannah. _Still, something feels off..._

"Since you lost, you must set up the tower again," Diana said. "Tyrannical, I know," she added with a smile.

"You're worse than Finnelan," Akko joked as she began setting up the tower again.

Nothing eventful happened until halfway through the game. Hannah was just about to remove a brick when Diana spoke.

"By the way Hannah, I missed you and Akko at the play's after party. Where did you go after our conversation?"

Hannah pulled her block out suddenly and the tower shuddered. "O-oh, we just went somewhere quieter to talk."

"Ooh about what?" Amanda asked as Hannah attempted to place the piece on top.

"About how weird you and Diana have been around each other lately," Hannah spat, as she jammed the piece down. She didn't know quite what Diana and Amanda were up to, but she knew they were being odd. _Have a taste of your own medicine,_ she thought. "Your turn, Diana."

"O-of course," Diana replied. Her attempt to remove a block was interrupted by a question from Akko.

"Didn't you and Amanda disappear from the party too?"

Diana kept her cool. "How would you know—"

Sucy cut in: "You two did leave, though."

Amanda didn't keep her cool. "We-we were j-just looking for A-Akko and H-Hannah."

"You don't sound so sure," Hannah said. "You can admit you two just wanted some private time. It's okay for two good friends like you."

"As if I'd be 'good friends' with Cavendish," Amanda said harshly.

"As if I'd be 'good friends' with O'Neill," Diana said coldly.

The temperature of the room dropped several degrees. "Well that was ominous," Sucy cackled. "And here I thought we were trolling Akko and Hannah."

"What's there to say?" Hannah asked, linking her arm with Akko's. "We're good friends."

"Yeah," Akko agreed, resting her head on Hannah's shoulder. "Sorry if you can't handle our beautiful friendship."

The girls were infinitely grateful for having become proficient actresses in the recent past. Akko and Hannah were confident that they could convince their friends that there was nothing suspect occurring between them. But the real question was: could they convince themselves?


	23. Day Twenty-Three: This Isn't New, It Only Feels Like It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hannah muses about her confused feelings toward Akko and receives some helpful advice from Barbara.

“This isn't new, it only feels like it,” Hannah mumbled into her pillow. She mused over recent events with Akko. She couldn't deny the emerging pattern in her behaviour towards Akko. Warm feelings of friendship, cold feelings of distance, prickly feelings of jealousy, tangled feelings of awkwardness, and confused feelings of desire.

Hannah couldn't deny it any longer. Her feelings toward Akko had only been intensifying for a while now, and Hannah had realized what she'd been ignoring for ages: Akko was attractive. _I want her,_ Hannah thought. _How did I even get into this situation? It's all her fault, being all friendly with me out of nowhere, making me feel so good, being so cute..._

"Ugh," she groaned. _Even if these feelings were her fault, I still wouldn't know what to do about them._ Though she would've liked to sue Akko for romantic damages, just for fun. _I kissed Akko and I liked it. And she seemed to like it too. And where does that put us?_

"Is a certain brunette girl with red eyes the reason you're tossing and turning?" Barbara whispered from her bed next to Hannah's. "Because an auburn-haired, hazel-eyed girl is keeping me awake."

"I'm sorry, Babs," Hannah said. "It's just... I don't know what to do about Akko..."

"Give her the kiss of a lifetime," Barbara said sleepily. "Unless you already did that..."

"Sh-shut up. How did you know?"

"It was pretty obvious when you came back to the party," Barbara explained. "I haven't seen your lips that swollen since that wasp stung you on the mouth."

"Don't remind me," Hannah groaned. "Please tell me no one else noticed."

Barbara shook her head. "I'm your best friend, Han. Only I know you that well. Well, maybe Akko knows you pretty well too," she added with a laugh.

"This is _so_ funny to you. huh?" Hannah said.

"Kinda, yeah. It's amusing how long it took you to realize you like Akko—"

"What!? I don't like Akko!"

Barbara gave her a pitying look. "Is that really true? Are you sure?"

"I-I just like kissing her!"

"Is that really something you want to admit to?" Barbara asked.

Hannah shoved her face back into her pillow. "Fine. I... I think I like Akko. I guess. I don't know. We got close all of a sudden and things got heated and we—"

"I don't need the details," Barbara cut in, waving her hands in panic. "Unless you want to know what Lotte's like when we're—"

"Okay! Okay! The point is, I can't stop thinking about her."

"What else is new?" Barbara laughed. "You've been like this for a while, Hannah."

"I know." _How did this escape me for so long?_ Hannah wondered. _Our friendship was always kinda weird. What made her notice someone like me in Diana's shadow? Akko's dazzling. I guess I couldn't help but notice her when she's always drawing attention to herself. She got under my skin somehow and now she won't get out._

"What should I do about these feelings?" Hannah asked. "I don't want to just dive in head first. What if things get awkward between us? She might not feel the same as me. What if she was only going along with me? Maybe she was just caught up in the moment. Hell, maybe I was too. I'm really into her, but maybe it would be better if we just stayed friends..."

Barbara muttered under her breath. Hannah could've sworn she heard the words "disaster bisexual."

"Listen, there's room between being direct and doing nothing," Barbara explained. "It's okay to be confused about what you want. Consider this: just flirt with her. You don't have to commit to anything yet, and showing a sweet spot for Akko might get her to admit any feelings she has."

"Flirt with her, huh?" Hannah considered it. After all, it wasn't too far off from her plan to intentionally act lovey-dovey with Akko to discourage suspicions that they were together. It wouldn't be too much of a stretch to earnestly flirt with Akko. _Hell, I might be able to charm Akko into falling for me if she hasn't already. That is what I want, right? Akko's heart? Akko's affection? Akko's attention?_

_Yes._

"She won't know what hit her," Hannah said with a smirk.

Barbara giggled. "This time last year you would've said that kind of thing about hexing her. You sure have changed."

"Says you. Remember back when you made fun of Lotte?" Hannah asked.

"Oh, don't be a pain. At least I'm honest about my feelings."

*******

When Akko left the alchemy classroom, Hannah was leaning against the wall, waiting for her.

"Hey, cutie," she said with a wink. "Got any plans for lunch?"

"Um, no?" Akko felt her face grow hot. _Did she just... call me "cutie"?_

"You don't sound so sure?" Hannah teased. "Sounds like you're free for the taking." She walked over to Akko's side and linked their arms. "You're all mine today."

"Um, uh, okay!" Akko allowed herself to be led to the cafeteria, where they got their lunch and found a table for just the two of them. She nervous at Hannah's change in behaviour. _What happened since I last saw her? She was normal at the party. Well, as normal as she could be after we—_

"So, um, anything happen lately?" she asked, trying to distract herself from her own thoughts and to divert Hannah from the blush rising in her cheeks.

Hannah smiled. _Akko's flustered alright, but in a good way or a bad way? I don't want to come on too strong. I was going to feed her like every dorky couple does, but I'll give her a little break for now._

"Diana's been a bit out of it lately," she said. "She was almost late for class today, if you can imagine. I think she's been having trouble sleeping." _And I think she knows I like you, but you don't need to know that,_ she added mentally.

"She was a bit snappy at the party," Akko noted. "Do you think something happened between her and Amanda?" _I suspected they were teaming up against me and Hannah to make fun of us,_ she thought, _but they don't seem to be getting along well enough for that.._

"I think something has happened between them," Hannah replied. "Or rather, has been happening between them."

"Really? Amanda hasn't mentioned anything," Akko said. "I can't think of what would get those two so riled."

"I have an idea, but it's a little hard to believe..."


	24. Day Twenty-Four: You Know This, You This To Be True

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akko gets some romantic consultation from Amanda, who gets the tables turned on herself as usual.

“You knows this, you know this to be true,” Amanda said.

"Who are you, Darth Vader?" Akko asked.

"Don't deflect," Amanda said. "You need to admit that you and Hannah are a thing now."

"But it's not true!"

Akko and Amanda were chilling out in the Green Team's dorm. Jasminka and Constanze were out and about, so Amanda seized the opportunity to bring up sensitive topics. The moment Akko had entered the room, she had seen Amanda lounging on her bed in her shorts and tank top; Amanda grinned like a shark when she heard the door open.

"I half expected you to bring Hannah with you," she had said. "Aren't you to surgically attached now?"

The conversation had only gone downhill from there.

"If you two aren't together, then why are you two always together?" Amanda asked.

Akko rolled her eyes. "You're always with Jasminka and Constanze," she countered. "Are you in some kinda polyamorous situation with them."

"Oh what, you didn't know?" Amanda replied sarcastically. "Jasna and Cons are my roommates, you dork. Of course I'm going to hang out with them. You're going right out of your way to chill with your little Hannah Banana."

"Shouldn't that be Diana's nickname?" Akko asked. "After all, her hair is a more appropriate hair colour, and there's a kind of banana called a Cavendish, and—"

"Never mind that," Amanda cut in. "And don't try to divert me again. We need to talk about you and your sweetheart."

"...Diana?" Akko pretended to be confused.

Amanda narrowed her eyes. "Hannah. England. You know, the ginger with a serious need for an attitude adjustment."

"Sounds more like you," Akko replied.

"I'll be more specific: the girl you've been making out with."

"H-how do you—I mean, no I haven't!" Akko stuttered. "You're the one who made us kiss for truth or dare."

"And you haven't kissed since then?" Amanda asked.

"That's none of your business!"

Amanda sighed. She was ninety-nine percent sure that Akko and Hannah had fooled around during the post-play celebration. She and Diana had practically caught them red-handed in the closet. _In the closet, I ask you,_ she thought. _It's like they're asking to be made fun of!_ The way Amanda saw it, there was no way those two weren't involved with each other in some capacity. They were definitely messing around, but Amanda wasn't so naïve to assume that meant they were together...

"So you're just friends?" Amanda asked. "That's what she is to you? Nothing else?"

"She's... a very important friend..." Akko said hesitantly. She didn't know what Hannah was to her any more. _I thought the two of us were close friends, but then we... together..._ They had kissed. Never mind kissed, they had made out. For half an hour. _That's not usual friend behaviour. That's, like, girlfriend behaviour. But we're not dating. Are we? Did I miss something? This is so confusing!_

"How important?" Amanda asked gleefully. "Like you start blushing whenever someone mentions her? That important?"

"She's my friend! And you say a lot of scandalous things about her. Anyone would blush at that! My feelings are totally above board!"

Amanda laughed. "Okay. Let's leave your feelings out of it for a minute. Have you considered that Hannah might have a thing for you?"

Akko spluttered, blushing just like Amanda mentioned. "Wh-what? Hannah? Have a thing for me? That's ridiculous!" 

"Why is it ridiculous?" Amanda asked. "She's been flirting with you hardcore the past few days. Honestly, she's clinging to you more than she does to Barbara. You must be awful special to her."

"But, she... she wouldn't... not me..." Akko's head was spinning. "She's just... she's just being nice!"

"She's calling you cute all the time because she's being nice?" Amanda asked.

"Yes!"

"Girl, that's some powerfully gay denial right there," Amanda said. "Nobody acts like that to someone they only see as a friend. She's head over heels for you, kid. You just need to open your eyes and see it. I think I have a book on romantic advice somewhere. Not that I need it, of course. You can have it."

Amanda got up from her bed and rummaged around through the mess atop the desk. Akko's attention was drawn to Amanda's upper back, which was left bare by her tank top. She squinted to get a better look. There were faint red marks on Amanda's back that looked kind of like...

"Are those scratch marks on your back?"

Amanda wheeled around immediately, hiding her back from further inspection. "I have no idea what you're talking about!"

Akko shrugged. "I'll just ask your roommates when they come back. I'm sure they can tell me."

"Okay, okay," Amanda said. "I got these battle scars in a late night encounter with one of our fine schoolmates. I'll tell you all about it when you're a big girl. You're too young and pure to hear that kind of filth."

"We're the same age," Akko said. "And I doubt you've been getting up to anything that exciting..."

Amanda took the bait. "What do you know? This girl is super repressed, and we all know that means super kinky. When she's got to blow off steam, she _really_ goes for it."

Akko instantly regretted hearing that. Hannah had made a pretty convincing case, but Akko still had trouble believing it. After all, how could _those two_ end up in this kind of situation?

"I didn't think she'd be the type, but I guess I shouldn't underestimate her," Akko said knowingly. "Diana sure is something."

Akko expected Amanda to blush; instead all the colour drained from her face. "D-D-Diana! Who said anything about that stuck-up pain in the ass!?"

"It looks to me more like she's a pain in the back," Akko noted. "Doesn't that hurt?"

"Of course it hurts," Amanda said. "That's the point. But would it kill her to cut her nails short like a proper lesbian—" She cut herself off. "I mean, I'm not talking about Cavendish! I'm talking about someone else!"

"Oh really? Who is it then?"

"A lady doesn't kiss and tell."

"Since when are you a lady?"

"Fair enough," Amanda conceded. "Come on. Do you really think someone like me would fool around with someone like Cavendish?"

"What does that mean?"

Amanda groaned with frustration. "Look, I'm only still in this school because I've got friends who would miss me. I don't care about lessons. I don't care about rules. And I definitely don't care about carrying on some legacy. And that's all that Cavendish cares about. We're completely incompatible. Do you really think Cavendish plans to bring me home to her dear, old auntie? Even you'd be a better pick. Atsuko Kagari, saviour of magic." She looked off into the distance. "And hey, my reputation would never recover if people saw me with a goody two-shoes like Cavendish."

Akko mulled over what she just heard. Her brain whirred as she weighed the evidence, the mental scale swinging one way, then the other...

"So... you can't admit that you've got the hots for Diana," Akko began, "because you think people will think you've gone soft, and you're afraid that Diana isn't interested in you long-term, so you've convinced yourself that there's no point in being honest about your feelings."

Amanda scoffed. Her eyes darted around the room as she tried to come up with an appropriate evasion of the truth. "Don't get confused. Me and Diana aren't like you and Hannah. There's no cutesy enemies to friends to lovers story here. Just enemies with benefits. Purely physical."

"Anyway, shouldn't you be with your _girlfriend_?" Amanda asked dismissively. "I suddenly have a stomach ache, so I'll be out of commission. You should hang out with her instead."

The message was clear: Amanda didn't want to talk anymore. Akko made apologetic noises and exited the room. She could hardly believe what she had just heard. Amanda had all but admitted to having feelings for Diana. It was such a shocking revelation that all thoughts about Hannah's potential feelings for her were forgotten.


	25. Day Twenty-Five: Go Forward, Do Not Stray

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter temporarily becomes an angsty Diamanda fic until Diana calls out Hannah on her feelings for Akko.

“Go forward, do not stray,” Diana said quietly. "We don't want a repeat of last night when you almost woke up half the students."

"Don't blame me," Amanda shot back. "One of the janitors left a bucket in the middle of the floor. How was I supposed to see it?"

"A cat burglar with no night vision?" Diana asked. "All you need to do is walk in a straight line. But I suppose that would be hard for you."

"Don't be a pain, _Diana_ ," Amanda said over her shoulder as she disappeared into the darkness of the hallway.

"Isn't that what you like about me, _Amanda_?" She spoke too softly for Amanda to hear, using the same voice she whispered into Amanda's ear during their nights of passion. She savoured the shape of Amanda's name on her lips, an experience she seldom allowed herself. 

_How did I ever get myself into this situation?_ Diana asked herself. _I've broken so many rules, so many times._

Not that she would ever be caught. It was simple for a witch of Diana's calibre to use magic to cover up the evidence of her trysts with Amanda. The role of night patrol allowed Diana unquestioned access to the hallways after curfew. The perfect alibi to avoid the scrutiny of her roommates. She knew exactly where in the school she could meet Amanda and nobody would catch them, nobody would hear them.

Nobody would put an end to what they had.

Had she spoken these words out loud, she would have spoken too soon.

"Up a little late, aren't you, Diana?" Hannah asked.

Diana turned around calmly. "I could say the same about you, Hannah. You're breaking curfew."

"So is Amanda," Hannah noted.

"I encountered O'Neill on my patrol and sent her on her way," Diana lied smoothly. _And now I'm lying to my roommate to cover my tracks,_ she thought. _What is wrong with me?_

"Don't you mean you encountered _Amanda_?" Hannah said slyly. "I don't think I've ever heard you call her that before."

"I.. well... you see... the thing about that is..." Diana had no answer.

"Your uniform is in disarray, your hair is dishevelled," Hannah said. "I bet if I pulled your collar back I'd see some love bites, a little 'Amanda's been here'?"

"You and Amanda have been doing this all the time, haven't you? That's why you've been sleep-deprived?

"You're imagining things," Diana protested.

"You and Amanda are a thing," Hannah said. "I should've suspected it. The truth or dare game. Amanda got so nervous over admitting that she's been kissed. You're the girl she kissed. And you two haven't stopped, have you?"

"She was being so obvious," Diana said bitterly.

Hannah blinked at Diana's admission. "I almost didn't believe it. How did this even happen? How did it start?"

Diana exhaled heavily. _Is there any point in denying this any more? Perhaps it will help to talk about it._ "As you know, I assist the faculty with the night patrol. That put me into a position to catch O'Neill causing trouble after dark. Frequently. I kept telling her to clean up her act, but she refused. Obviously," she added with a roll of her eyes.

_Things between them had developed quickly. She began catching Amanda after dark more and more often. Diana conferred with the professors and realized that Amanda was only sneaking out after dark on days that matched Diana's schedule. Diana came to expect it, almost look forward to giving her a lecture. And the troublemaker seemed to have less and less reason to break curfew..._

"Amanda kept breaking curfew and... the two of us became closer."

_"Do you enjoy talking down to me?" Amanda had asked her one fateful night. "Do you really think you're going to change me?"_

_"I wouldn't try if I didn't believe I had a chance," Diana had answered. "If only you had as much faith in yourself as I have in you."_

_"Well ain't you sweet," Amanda replied. "Have you considered that maybe I don't want to change? Maybe I'm fine just the way I am. And you just need to get used to that."_

_"If you continue to act like this, you'll be expelled."_

_"And wouldn't that be just a dream come true for you?" Amanda sniped._

_"Of course not. I want all my fellow students to do well. I wouldn't relish seeing you expelled. If I wanted you in trouble, I would've informed the professors of your frequent night-time escapades."_

_"What? Am I your favourite, Cavendish?" Amanda scoffed. "I don't want your pity. I want you to leave me alone." Surely a contradictory statement, given how she was practically challenging Diana to catch her._

_Diana crossed her arms. "If you want me to leave you alone, you'll straighten yourself out and stop attracting my attention by causing trouble. You should behave like a proper witch."_

_"Back off, Cavendish," Amanda said. "Leave me alone if you're gonna give me that goody two-shoes garbage."_

_"I will not back down," Diana said adamantly._

_"Oh really?" Amanda took a step forward, her eyes glinting deviously. She moved into Diana's personal space, mere inches from her face. "You won't back down even now?"_

_Diana didn't recoil. "I will not back down." She closed the distance to less than an inch. The tips of their noses touched._

_"That's a dangerous game, Cavendish," Amanda said. "Any closer and we'll be locking lips. You better back down soon."_

_Emotions swelled in Diana's stomach. Naturally she didn't want to kiss Amanda, but nevertheless... "I am not. Backing. Down." It was out of her hands. She couldn't lose face in front of Amanda. She needed to establish that_ she _was the one in charge._

_Amanda grinned. Diana felt the other girl's breath on her lips as she spoke: "Have it your way." Amanda edged forward and their lips met._

_Even though she was expecting it, Diana was still taken by surprise. The sensation of Amanda's mouth against hers, the warmth of Amanda's skin so close to hers. It was—_

_Amanda suddenly pulled back, smirking. "I'm impressed. I didn't think you had in you, Cavendish—"_

_Diana seized her by the shoulders and pulled her into another kiss. "Say my name, Amanda," she breathed._

_"Diana," Amanda whispered before kissing her again._

"We became involved... physically," Diana said. "Neither of us was interested in anything more, nor did we want anyone else to know of our... relationship, hence our discretion."

"Is that true?" Hannah asked.

"You've seen how O'Neill acts around me," Diana said. "She doesn't want anyone to know she's anything more than an enemy to me. She even uses my surname in public to avoid appearing too familiar with me."

"And you wish she would acknowledge your relationship in front of other people?" Hannah asked.

"I... she has no interest in me," Diana said. "She has made it perfectly clear that she can't stand me. We're utterly incompatible. There's nothing more to discuss."

"Ugh, you two are impossible," Hannah groaned. There was no way these two could be this hung up on each other if they weren't crushing harder than a trash compactor.

"As if you and Akko are any better," Diana said. "If only my aunt were as capable of evading her creditors as you two are capable of avoiding your own feelings."

"I—I'm not avoiding my feelings!" Hannah protested. "I know I like Akko. Kind of. Maybe. I've been flirting with her! Maybe you didn't notice because you've been too busy brooding about your dear Amanda."

Diana spluttered. "I have not been brooding! And flirting will only get you so far. You need to be more direct."

"What would you know?" Hannah countered. "You're not doing so hot yourself."

"I don't recall saying I wanted to do better," Diana replied.

The stood in tense silence for a moment.

"You should ask Barbara for romantic advice," Hannah said. "Or at least take your own advice. Be more honest about what you want."

Diana didn't trust herself to reply. She was upset for reasons she didn't want to own up to. She swallowed a passive aggressive comment about her little "competition" with Hannah and whether her "rival" had come up with a way to best her yet.


	26. Day Twenty-Six: But If You Can't See It, Is It Really There?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hannah and Akko confer on what to do about their useless lesbian friends, Diana and Amanda.

“But if you can't see it, is it really there?” Akko asked. "I mean, if you can't see it, how do you know it's there?"

"Is that a metaphor?" Hannah asked.

"Is it a what?"

"Never mind," Hannah said. "Just trust me that it's there. I cast the spell, so the platform's there, even if it's invisible."

"Okay, okay," Akko said, walking forward. "I didn't say I didn't trust you. I just don't trust magic."

Hannah laughed as Akko tiptoed toward the invisible platform she created, waving her arms in front of her to avoid walking into it. The two of them were outside and looking for a place where they wouldn't be found. They found the perfect perch where it would be difficult to be seen and could only be accessed with assistance.

"I would've thought that the saviour of magic and the next Shiny Chariot would have a better relationship with magic," Hannah said playfully as she climbed up after Akko.

Akko settled atop the false balcony they were using as a refuge, scuttling up against the wall and pouting into her knees. "Are you making fun of Shiny Chariot again?"

Hannah crawled up beside Akko and gently elbowed her. "I wouldn't dream of it, cutie. I just think it's funny that you haven't gotten used to magic by now."

 _That's not all I haven't gotten used to by now,_ Akko thought, blushing again at being called "cutie." She was very aware of how close Hannah was to her, how Hannah leaned against her ever so slightly. _I guess it is kind of cold,_ she thought dismissively. "I have an excellent relationship with magic," she said. "I just don't trust things that I can't see."

"Because you're clumsy," Hannah teased. "Don't worry. If you fall and hurt yourself, I'll kiss it better." She winked.

Akko pretended not to be flustered long enough to get out a retort. "You've come a long way, Hannah. I remember back when you were grossed out at the idea of putting your lips anywhere near me." As the words left her mouth, she realized she'd brought up an awkward topic for them.

"Well, w-we weren't even friends then," Hannah replied. "And if I recall, that was about kissing near your foot." She also recalled getting flustered over nothing back then. _By the Nine Olde Witches, how long have I been like this?_

The two of them did what they did best; they danced around the issue. Hannah didn't want to bring up exactly how comfortable she was with kissing Akko now, how she was currently smothering half-formed plans of how to turn the present situation into one where she could kiss Akko again. Akko, on the other hand, was starkly reminded of their previous kisses and was overwhelmed by anxiety: what if Hannah tried to kiss her again? What would she do? Would she let her? Would she like it?

Akko broke the silence first. "So, uh, what did you want to talk about that you didn't want to be overheard?" Her heartbeat raced as she wondered if the topic of conversation might be the relationship between two witches in particular...

"I wanted to talk about Diana and Amanda."

Akko breathed a sigh of relief.

"You talked to Amanda, right?" Hannah asked.

"Sort of," Akko said. "She wasn't exactly openly admitting anything. Well, she admitted more than she wanted to, I think. She said what's between them is only..." she blushed, "...physical. She made a big fuss denying that she would ever be caught dead exchanging anything more than a handshake with Diana. She made it sound like she didn't think a relationship between them would ever work out because of their 'reputations.'" Akko rolled her eyes. "I think she's just scared that things won't work out and she can't woman up and ask Diana if that's how things really are. She said the two of them are completely incompatible."

Hannah nodded. "Diana said something similar. 'Utterly incompatible,' she said. For someone so intelligent, she can be rather thick when it comes to anything outside a book. She's convinced that Amanda hates her guts and would never want to be her girlfriend. Diana's so obviously got it bad for Amanda, but she's in as much denial as her girl. Honestly. In a way, she admitted more than Amanda. She didn't give any reasons why she didn't want to be with Amanda, only reasons why Amanda doesn't like her. She's so focused on that girl, it's almost embarrassing. Akko, Diana even called her _Amanda_."

"She did what!?" Akko was shocked. "Next you're gonna tell me that Amanda called her _Diana!_ "

Hannah smirked. "Those two are a total disaster. They're so in-sync and yet they have no idea how the other feels."

"It's hard to believe neither of them have realized it yet," Akko agreed.

The irony of their statements didn't occur to them.

"So," Akko began. "Amanda's problem is that she's in denial about her feelings because she doesn't think Diana will return them. She's thinks they're too different for things to work out."

Hannah couldn't help but wonder if Akko had similar thoughts about her. _I did call her a commoner a lot, and a failure of a witch,_ she thought. _How would Akko react if I told her about my feelings? Has she forgiven me for bullying her? I should make sure to apologize for everything before I make a move..._

"Yeah, and Diana's problem is that she assumes Amanda couldn't possibly have feelings for her and doesn't realize that Amanda's agonizing over her," Hannah said.

Akko frowned at that. _That must be the worst,_ she thought. _Pining after a girl who doesn't realize that you've got a thing for her? Like, I'd feel like an idiot if I didn't realize a girl was actually into me. If Hannah liked me—wait, never mind._

"Those two need desperate help, and we're just the gals to do it," Hannah said confidently. "We just need to figure out a way to make sure they both know how the other feels."

"Okay, but how are we going to do it?" Akko asked. "How about we do it Sucy style and slip a truth potion into their food? Oh! Or maybe we can lock them in a room together until they sort things out!"

Hannah laughed. "Excellent ideas, but we don't want to leave things to chance, just in case those dorks somehow make things worse." She outlined multiple plans, several of which depended on complex magic.

"You can do all that?" Akko asked incredulously. "That's amazing. We haven't even covered some of those spells in class yet. You're really smart, Hannah."

"It's nothing, really," Hannah said bashfully. Half of those spells she had learned ages ago to try to help Diana crack down on Akko's troublemaking—which she realized in retrospect may have been a cover for an ulterior motive. The other half were spells she'd learned so that she could impress Akko and possibly usurp Diana as her tutor.

To Hannah's credit, Akko was impressed. In fact, she was even considering asking Hannah to take over for Diana to free up the latter witch's schedule. It was a perfectly logical choice. And she was lured by the tantalizing prospect of what would happen if the two of them were alone in the woods after dark...


	27. Day Twenty-Seven: Remember, You Have To Remember

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> DIAMANDA FEELS

“Remember, you have to remember,” Akko said.

"Who says I want to remember?" Amanda demanded.

"We do," Hannah said in her best bossy snob voice. "It's in our best interests that you get your head out of your ass, and that means it's in _your_ best interests."

"How do you figure?" Amanda asked.

Akko had lured Amanda near the ruins at the northern campus where she and Hannah ambushed their friend about her scandalous relationship with Diana—and more importantly her secret feelings for her. Naturally, Amanda denied all the charges, but Akko and Hannah were relentless.

"We want you to stop acting like a moron and to own up to your totally obvious feelings," Akko said. "The emotionally unavailable, moody bad boy thing is exhausting. Can't you just admit you have a thing for Diana?"

"I do have a thing for Diana," Amanda conceded. "It's called a sex drive. That's it. Put the conspiracy theory wall away and we can talk about the real problem couple in this school, you and Han—"

"Not so fast," Hannah cut in. She and Akko had predicted that Amanda would attempt to change the subject, and they weren't about to let her take the focus off herself. "You've been nervous and cagey around and about Diana for ages. That's not the behaviour of someone who's only in it for fun."

Amanda scoffed. "Look, I got cagey because I didn't want anybody else to know I was hooking up with Cavendish because my reputation would sink lower than my grades."

"That's not the convincing argument you think it is," Hannah replied. "The bad girl seducing the school's untouchable top student? Your reputation would soar. The students would petition to put up a statue of you."

"That's if it were purely physically," Akko added. "Though it would make sense if the bad girl was afraid that her lovey-dovey affair might make her look like she's gone soft. A real Romeo and Juliet thing."

"I hate that play," Amanda spat.

"Exactly! You _have_ gone soft, and now you're embarrassed that no one will take you seriously any more."

"You're out of your mind," Amanda said without her usual cockiness. "It's just a fling. There's nothing more behind it. Not for either of us."

Hannah swooped in for the kill. "And how do you know what Diana thinks? Sounds like some negative thinking on your part."

Amanda barked out a hollow laugh. "Diana having feelings for me is even more ludicrous than the other way around."

"There's no way any of that is true," Akko said adamantly. "You're just in denial."

"That's pretty funny coming from you," Amanda spat.

"Remember how you two even got into this situation," Hannah said sternly. "Just think about it." In preparation for their sting operation, Hannah had wheedled out specific details from Diana about the lead-up to her and Amanda's initial kiss. The details were promising, and perhaps just the key they needed to unlock a confession from Amanda.

"I don't know what you think you know, but that ain't it," Amanda said.

"You kept breaking curfew and getting caught by Diana," Akko said. "Alone. You didn't even invite me!"

"Sometimes I just want to test how much I can get away with," Amanda replied. "And it's fun to harass the faculty after hours."

"Except you started following Diana's night patrol schedule and made sure she'd be the only one you'd end up being caught by," Hannah said.

"What do you want from me?" Amanda asked. "She didn't throw me under the bus. She just kept trying to _lecture_ me. Of course I'm gonna go for the easy option."

"And you never questioned why she went easy on you?" Akko asked.

"She had some cockamamie idea about getting me to clean up my act," Amanda answered. "Like, she kept saying that I was going to get myself expelled. Like I care about that. Like she cares about that."

"It sounds like she did," Hannah said. "She doesn't want you to get expelled, and that's why she kept telling you to stop doing things that would get you expelled. Duh."

"She'd do that for any student," Amanda said testily. "That's why I kept showing her that I wasn't going to change and that she was only wasting her time." She didn't realize that she'd admitted she was adjusting her behaviour according to Diana's actions.

"You were testing her," Hannah assessed. "You were waiting for her concern for you to run out. Only it didn't, did it?"

"You were worried that you were being treated the same as everyone else," Akko said. "You were worried that you weren't special to her."

"And what conclusion did you come to when you realized she wouldn't stop showing concern for you?" Hannah asked.

"I, uh, well," Amanda scrambled for an answer. "She's just being her goody two-shoes self! It doesn't mean anything!"

" _'She's just being nice,'_ huh? That's the gayest excuse in the book," Akko said, the irony clearing her head by a mile.

"And what did you do when she realized she wasn't going to back down?" Hannah asked. "Oh right, you got right in her face. You tried getting close to her."

"Wh-what? Did Diana tell you about this!?" Amanda looked panicked. "What did she tell you!?"

"You straight up played gay chicken with her," Akko said. "That's a weird kind of conflict revolution."

"Resolution," Hannah corrected.

"Yeah, that," Akko said. "Weird that was the first thing that came to your mind, kissing Diana."

"That's not what happened!" Amanda objected.

"Then what happened?" Hannah asked. She and Akko closed in on Amanda. "Just admit that you're attracted to Diana and you want to be her girlfriend."

Amanda turned around. Akko and Hannah were sure that she would storm off until their friend spun around and shouted her response. "Fine! I like Diana! Are you happy? I'm attracted to her. Who isn't? And she's out of everyone's league. Even mine, and I'm no slouch. It wasn't going to go anywhere. And then she kept catching me when I snuck out, so I figured, hey, why not make the most of it? She kept letting me get away without detention, so I got a stupid thought in my head that maybe she had a soft spot for me. I tried to get her to prove me wrong, but she just... wouldn't. So I tried to drive her away, but that stubborn girl just wouldn't give up. So we ended up kissing each other into next week. It blew my mind, but there's no way I was going to push my luck and try to make something else of it. No way is precious, perfect Diana Cavendish going to let herself be dragged down by the likes of me. I'm bad news to her people. We just pretend there's nothing between us and that's how it's going to be."

"Look, she... she made me feel... wanted. People—especially people like her—are supposed to write me off without a second thought. Just a waste of time. But Diana wasted a lot of time on me. Trying to make me better, like her. Or maybe she was just looking out for me. So... I got attached. I tricked myself into thinking that maybe, just maybe, she was attached to me too. That maybe there was something about me that caught her eye, and maybe she was personally invested in me staying at Luna Nova. But that's too good to be true. Ugh, now I'm sounding all sappy. Was it worth it to drag all that out of me?"

"Very much so, in my humble opinion."

Amanda froze at the those delicate, familiar tones.

"D-Diana!?" Amanda's fight or flight response went absolutely haywire as Diana, who had been standing behind a broken column and concealed with an invisibility spell, revealed herself and faced Amanda.

"Amanda," Diana said softly, calmly. "When Akko and Hannah told me, I didn't believe them. I went along with their plan expecting the worst. That was... certainly not the worst."

She stepped forward and took one of Amanda's hands in hers. "Amanda, I had no idea. I never would've imagined, given the walls you've put up. I avoided giving you detentions when you caused trouble because I hoped that I could get you to trust me. I thought that if only I could connect with you, I could prevent one of my... friends from being pushed out of school. I resolved not to give up, but neither would you. Your resilience... intrigued me. It occurred to me at one point that you were only breaking curfew as an excuse to argue with me, to speak with me. That intrigued me more. So I played along."

"And then you challenged me. Either back down or be kissed by you. It was only afterward that I realized you wanted the kiss more than peace from me. And that delighted me. I've learned that there are many admirable things about you, namely your tenacity. You've done something that very few people have done. You've challenged me. Far fewer have ever won. In doing so you conquered my heart. But I was afraid you had no idea what you'd done to me, nor could I admit it. You were always so cold to me. You wouldn't so much as use my given name. I felt vulnerable, and I was afraid to expose my heart to you out of fear that this was just a game to you. That you were only in it for the fun. I didn't realize how I made you feel, that you felt the same as I do."

Amanda blinked as she attempted to process what she'd heard. "Wait... are you saying what I think you're saying?"

Diana smiled. "I like you, Amanda O'Neill. I adore you. I'm enraptured by you. My heart beats ever quicker when you are near. I—"

"Okay, okay, I get it already," Amanda said bashfully. "Hell. What about your family though? And the other blue bloods? Aren't they going to have a problem with, uh, us?"

Diana's smiled turned devious. "If my aunt or others of her ilk have a problem with us, they can—as you might put it—go fuck themselves."

"Diana Cavendish!" Amanda gasped. "That's a dirty mouth you've got there. I've got just the thing to fix that." She leaned in and pecked Diana on the lips. It was so sweet that Akko and Hannah almost melted like caramel.

"See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Akko quipped.

"All you dorks needed was some proper communication and all your problems would've been solved ages ago," Hannah said.

Diana and Amanda exchanged a dubious look.

"They cannot be serious," Diana said. "They really are impossible."

"They really don't know when to stop, do they?" Amanda said. "Let's leave them to their own devices for a while, see if they get it."

The couple shooed Akko and Hannah away with threatening suggestions about what they would witness if they stuck around. Blushing furiously, Hannah dragged Akko away by the hand before they could make good on their threats.

"So it all worked out in the end," Akko said. "Those two are really brave. I'd be too nervous to admit all that in front of other people."

"Is that so?" Hannah asked, biting her lip. "Sounds like you've got a special someone you're keeping secrets about."

"S-says who," Akko said nervously. _As if I would have anyone like that. No Diana to my Amanda. There's no one I'm pining for. I don't have any secrets. Well, I guess I wouldn't want anyone to know how many times I've thought about that time I made out with Hannah—_ Akko squeaked out loud.

"B-but what about you?" she asked jokingly. "After all, isn't there someone you keep flirting with and holding hands with?" She was too sheepish to name herself as Hannah's potential crush, but she was confident enough to squeeze Hannah's hand for emphasis.

Hannah was at a crossroads. She could admit to her feelings for Akko now, or she could evade. There was a good chance that Akko already suspected her, so she really ought to come clean...

"It's you, sweetheart," Hannah said smarmily. "How about you make a detour to my dorm and we make good on it. Barbara's a heavy sleep and Diana's going to be busy." Hannah gave Akko the fakest wink. _What are you doing, brain? She's going to take that as a joke! All I had to do was tell her I like her!_

Akko returned the wink, as if she weren't screaming inside her own head. "Oh, I don't think anyone's a heavy enough sleeper not to wake up through what we'd get up to." _By the Nine Olde Witches, what am I saying? Get a hold of yourself, Akko!_

The two of them laughed nervously as they both tried to parse what had happened between them Neither was sure of their own motivations or what the other thought of them, but both were certain that the other would try flirting again, and they had to be ready.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let. Diana. Say. Fuck.


	28. Day Twenty-Eight: I Felt It. You Know What I Mean

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hannah keeps being a flirt and Akko tries to figure out what to do about that. One thing leads to another...

“I felt it. You know what I mean,” Amanda said. "You know what I'm talking about right, Sucy?"

Sucy cackled. "Yeah. It's downright sickening to be around, and I hang out with poisonous mushrooms all day."

"I think it's kind of sweet, though," Lotte said. "It's so cute when someone gets that flustered from flirting.

"Nah, it's sickening," Sucy said.

"That's her, our sickeningly sweet girl," Amanda declared, waving a hand at Akko.

"Don't you two have anything better to do than make fun of me?" Akko said, frowning. "You girls need a life."

"I already have a life," Amanda said with a cocky grin. "I hung out with my _girlfriend_ all day. Hey, Akko, you should get a girlfriend as well."

"I told you, it's not like that!" Akko objected.

Akko, Sucy, Lotte, and Amanda were spending the evening in the Red Team dorm. Akko was merely passing the time before another clandestine magic practice session—with Hannah this time. Amanda and Sucy didn't know that though; they were making fun of Akko for the flirting they'd witnessed between her and Hannah.

"It's sooo obvious," Amanda said. "You two are in looooove. You can't keep your hands off each other and you two literally never stop flirting."

"We're just dorking around," Akko said. "We're friends. It's what friends do. What, you've never flirted with one of your friends before?"

"Sure, but have you?" Amanda countered.

"No, but like nobody does where I'm from," Akko said. "Hannah started it. I'm just playing along like a good friend." But even Akko wasn't sure she believed what she was saying. Amanda was extremely liberal with spicy flirtation when it came to her friends—though she promised to cut down on that for Diana's sake—but none of it had made her flustered. On the contrary, she took in stride with her usual Akko-like cockiness.

Hannah's flirting, on the other hand, always caught her off guard. It gave her butterflies in her stomach. As much as she suspected that Hannah didn't mean anything with the flirting, Akko sincerely hoped she did. Hannah's compliments made her feel all warm and fuzzy in a way no one else's did. She was only too happy to play along and get more compliments like that, and she hoped that her return comments made Hannah feel even half as good about herself.

"You can tell yourself that all you like," Sucy said. "We all know the icky, icky truth. Should I fix you a truth potion to force you to admit it? I think I have one around here somewhere." She rummaged around the mess of mushrooms and potion bottles under her bed.

There was a knock at the door; Akko was saved.

"Your girlfriend is here," Amanda jibed.

Lotte shushed her. "Hannah will hear!"

"I know!"

"Excuse me, girls," Akko said, getting up from her bed and walking over to the door. "I've got some 'denial' to do. Don't wait up!"

Akko opened the door to reveal Hannah, who smiled at her.

"Bring her back by midnight, or I'll have your head," Amanda called over Akko's shoulder.

"Who are you, her overprotective dad," Hannah joked. "Your daughter is all mine tonight."

"Ooh! Did you hear that? Our little girl's getting her V-card punched tonight!"

Akko blushed. "Dad! You're embarrassing me!" She walked out the door and slammed it behind herself.

"You're out of control," Akko said.

"Hey, they can't make fun of us if we're even cringier than they are," Hannah said. "I guess this means that Diana is your mom now?"

"It makes more sense than Amanda being a daddy."

"Do me a favour and never refer to Amanda as 'daddy' again. Or anyone."

*******

"You're doing amazing, sweetie," Hannah said. "It's hard to believe you ever struggled with magic."

"Aw, you're just saying that," Akko said, rubbing the back of her neck. "I'm not that good."

"Nonsense," Hannah said. She stood up from the stump where she'd been observing and walked over to Akko, putting a hand on her arm. "You've made incredible progress."

Akko's heart jumped into her throat. "Maybe it's because I have a good teacher."

Hannah suppressed a frown. _Does she mean me,_ she wondered, _or does she mean all the work Diana did before I started helping her._

She had begun her flirting offensive the day after Amanda and Diana became an official couple. Only a few days into it, Akko asked if Hannah would take over as her tutor. It was after Hannah had yet again shown off her magical skills hoping for this exact response. She tried not to be too giddy over it. It was possible that she had asked for other reasons, like giving Diana more free time (possibly to spend with Amanda...).

It was Hannah's third time tutoring Akko in the secret clearing in the woods, and everything was going swimmingly. Things were going so well, in fact, Hannah wondered if maybe she had a chance to make some progress with Akko...

"This is a pretty complex spell," Hannah said, showing Akko a complicated spell diagram in a textbook. "But it'd be useful for the kind of magic show you want to do. Do you think you can manage it?"

"There's nothing I can't do," Akko said, feigning confidence. It _was_ a complicated spell, maybe out of her league, but she didn't want to back down in front of Hannah. She wanted to impress her. Even more importantly, she wanted Hannah to feel like a good teacher.

"Tell you what, Akko," Hannah said. "If you can pull it off, I'll give you a kiss as a reward." She winked flirtatiously.

Akko wasn't sure whether to object or just go along with it. "Don't be too disappointed if I don't get it," she said.

Hannah laughed and backed away to sit on a log to watch. Five minutes later, Akko accomplished the spell. Or something very close to it. It _was_ a complicated spell. Hannah congratulated her on a job well done and bid her to sit down next to her.

"I'm getting tired," Akko said. "Me and Diana usually stop around now. It is after curfew, after all."

"Fair enough," Hannah said. But she didn't stand up. "Aren't you going to ask for your reward first?"

Akko's face turned bright pink. "Oh. Um. Right. Um, can I have my reward?"

"What was your reward again?"

Akko pouted. "You're teasing me."

Hannah grinned impishly. "Yes. Yes I am. And yes, you can have your kiss." She kissed the back of Akko's hand.

"Oh, is that all—" Akko slapped her other hand over her mouth. 

Hannah's eyes widened, then she smirked. "You were expecting more?"

"I—uh—no—what are you doing!?"

Hannah held Akko's hand against her face and kissed her palm. "Was that more to your liking?"

"H-Hannah! You're just trying to get me flustered!"

"Maybe. So was that reward good enough, or will it take a little more to _satisfy_ you?" Hannah leaned in close, her eyes locked on Akko's. "What are you getting so flustered for? It's not like we haven't been here before."

"I—that was—you see—"

"If I recall correctly, you were the one who was clinging to me..." Hannah said seductively.

"That was because my knees went all wobbly and I got light-headed!" Akko objected.

"You're saying I make you light-headed and weak in the knees?"

Akko groaned. "You're worse than Amanda! You weren't exactly so coolheaded yourself."

"You're right," Hannah said. "The heat got to me. Kind of like how the cold's getting to me right now. Say, how about we warm up a little before we go back?"

Akko blushed intensely. Hannah was flushed too. Akko certainly didn't hate the idea of snuggling up to Hannah. She was a touchy-feely girl. And she wasn't exactly unfamiliar with Hannah's personal space by now. But the fluttering feelings in her stomach were overwhelming her. She wanted to take Hannah up on her offer. Badly. And that scared her. But at the same time: when had Akko ever let fear stop her from doing something?

Akko eased herself into Hannah's arms, snuggling up close, tentatively nuzzling her cheek against Hannah's. "It is kinda chilly. We wouldn't want our chattering teeth to give us away."

"Mmm. Right." Hannah found herself stumped. She'd expected Akko to get flustered and scamper off back to the school. Now she had to figure out what to do with the girl in her arms. _Maybe I can get her to kiss me again, but I only have so long before we have to go back. Or maybe..._

"Akko, there's something I—"

"MISS KAGARI! MISS ENGLAND! WHAT IN THE NAME OF GOOD DECENCY ARE YOU TWO DOING HERE PAST CURFEW!?!?!?"

Akko and Hannah sprung apart and saw Professor Finnelan standing at the edge of the clearing, hands on her hips, eyes burning with righteous fury.

"Well, this is a compromising situation," Hannah said dimly.

"There goes my 'days without detention' record," Akko said.


	29. Day Twenty-Nine: At Least It Can't Get Any Worse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amanda tells Hannah that things between her and Akko can't get any worse than detention, but she forgot about Hannah's temper...

“At least it can’t get any worse,” Amanda said. "You made a move on your girl, but now you have detention because you got caught in the act by Finnelan." There was a two second pause before she burst into laughter.

"It's not funny!" Hannah said. "This is a major disaster here!"

"I know right?" Amanda laughed. "You were so damn close you could almost taste it, and not only did you not get to, you got Akko in trouble!"

"Stop laughing! Diana, tell her it's not funny!"

"Hannah's right," Diana said. "It isn't funny. Naturally it's problematic that Akko's refuge for practicing magic after hours is now known to the faculty. And the punishments for an infraction by students shouldn't be taken lightly." Despite her words, the corners of her mouth tugged upward in a suppressed smile.

"Et tu, Diana!?"

Hannah, Amanda, and Diana were having afternoon tea in the Blue Room dorm after their classes—and before Hannah's evening detention. Hannah had made the mistake of trying to get sympathy from her roommate and her girlfriend, but it seemed like Amanda had become a bad influence on Diana. At the moment she spitefully regretted her and Akko's efforts to push the couple together.

"Akko's going to hate me," Hannah wailed.

"Why would that be?" Diana asked.

"Because now Finnelan knows about her practice spot and she won't be able to use it again!"

"Is that your fault?"

"Well, no, but she might think—"

"Let's shut that down right now," Amanda said. "Akko doesn't think. Ever. And besides, out of all the things you've ever done to her, you think this is what's going to make her snap?"

"Don't remind me," Hannah groaned. She still hadn't made sure that Akko knew she was sorry about all her past bullying. _Though maybe I can get all the apologizing out in one go when I ask her to forgive me for this mess,_ she thought.

"You're blowing this out of proportion," Diana said. "Do you have any reason to think that Akko blames you for what happened? Has she said anything today?"

"Well, no," Hannah admitted. "I've kind of been avoiding her... because I was nervous about her being mad at me..." There was also the delicate matter of how she and Akko had been when they were caught. _Akko must be so embarrassed to be caught like that with me by Finnelan of all people. She's got to be mortified._

"You're only going to make yourself miserable if you keep avoiding her," Diana said matter-of-factly. "You need to speak with her and find out how exactly she feels and work from there. Though I'd be remiss not to mention my belief that you'll find Akko more accommodating than you fear."

"Alright, alright," Hannah said. "Don't come crying to me when I... come crying to you..."

Amanda smirked. "That one sounded better in your head, didn't it?"

*******

"So," Croix whispered in Akko's ear. "You and Hannah England, huh?"

"Croix!" Akko blushed. "You have a job to do!" She and Hannah were serving their detention brewing extra-strength cleaning potions for scrubbing the dungeons and the trolls' bath. Naturally, there were professors overseeing their punishment: Croix and Ursula.

"Yep, and my job isn't just to make sure you don't mess up that potion with your infamously terrible potion skills," Croix said. "It's also to keep you two from _fraternizing_. Is it true Finnelan caught you lovebirds canoodling in the woods?"

"N-n-no!" Even Akko knew she didn't sound believable. "We were just... cold! So we huddled up together to keep warm!"

"After dark in the woods?" Croix asked, raising an eyebrow. "Let me tell you, kid: Finnelan heard that kind of excuse a dozen times about ten years ago. Sorry for ruining that for you two," she added with a wink.

"That's not what happened!" Akko pouted. "Just because you and Ursula..." She realized that she didn't want to finish that sentence. She didn't want to think about her mentor... _canoodling_... or to compare herself and Hannah with the overly amorous couple.

"Oh really?" Croix asked. "I wonder what would happen between the two of you if Ursula and I were to step out of the room."

"Croix!"

"The steamy fumes of the brewing potions might get to your heads, and you can only hold out so long before your baser urges take over."

"Please! Don't say it!"

"That's right. Filthy. Hardcore. Hand-holding."

"What are you two being so loud about over there?" Ursula asked sternly.

Croix almost jumped out of her cape. "Oh, you know, stuff. Hey, I have a suggestion." She waved Ursula over and whispered in her ear at length.

"No, we can't," Ursula said. "That's not—don't be inappropriate—are you sure—I don't think that's really—alright then." As she spoke, her voice hiked higher and higher and her face got pinker and pinker.

She cleared her throat. "Croix and I have something to take care of. Teacher stuff. I trust you two can serve out the rest of your detention without supervision. I'm counting on you." The professors exited the room, small giggles escaping as the closed the door behind them.

Hannah frowned. "Those two are going to bang, aren't they?"

"Probably," Akko replied.

The girls tended to their potions in an awkward silence. Neither of them knew how to broach the subject of the circumstances in which they'd been found last night. Naturally, the only option was to talk around it.

"I'm surprised our punishment wasn't something worse," Akko said. "Finnelan threatened to chain me up in the dungeon if she caught me outside after curfew again."

"I guess she went easy on you for good behaviour," Hannah suggested. After all, Akko had been avoiding (blatant) rule breaking lately. "Or maybe for good company."

"You really think she's letting me off easy because you were there too?" Akko asked. "More like I dragged you down with me." _Hannah's got to be mad at me for getting her in trouble,_ she thought. _She wouldn't have been breaking curfew if she wasn't helping me out._

"Well, it was worth it," Hannah said before her brain could keep up with her mouth. By the Nines that was cheesy.

Akko blushed at the memory, implying she didn't exactly disagree. _Hannah was so warm,_ she thought. _And she smelled really nice too. If Finnelan hadn't shown up, we might've..._

"I'm sorry about that," Hannah said. She stepped away from her simmering cauldron and slowly approached Akko. "I'm sorry about a lot of things. I was so mean to you last year. Over nothing."

"Wh-what? Oh right, that." Akko had forgotten all about the bullying. After all, at least half the school had bullied her at some point. Including the faculty. If she could get along with Croix, she could get along with anyone. And Hannah had given her quite a few reasons to forgive her...

"I'm serious, Akko," Hannah said softly. "I'm really sorry. And I want to make it up to you."

"It's cool, Hannah. I wasn't all that nice to you either. I was a real snot last year too!"

"Okay, but..." Hannah looked at her feet nervously. "We got caught because I—because we didn't go back soon enough." And they were too distracted by each other to notice Finnelan's approach. "It's my fault you lost your practice spot."

Akko panicked at the sight of Hannah's sad expression. "Don't worry about it! It's fine! I can ask Diana about another spot to practice. There's nothing you could've done to avoid this. Well, I think Diana had spells to conceal the magic use there when we practiced, but—"

Hannah blinked. Then her sad expression went hard as diamond. "Oh, _Diana_ could've done better. Of course." _I thought this was over._

Akko blinked as well. "What does Diana have to do with anything?"

Hannah scoffed. "That's what I'd like to know. You can't go even a whole detention without mentioning her, huh?" A sick, burning feeling swelled in her stomach. _It's always Diana. Even after taking over Akko's tutoring, even after getting detention over Akko's tutoring, I'm still competing with Diana._

Akko flailed. _What's going on? What did I do wrong?_

"Why is it always Diana, Diana, Diana!? Aren't I good enough!?" Hannah blinked tears from the corners of her eyes. "Maybe you should've let Diana keep tutoring you, since she's sooo much better at everything!"

Hannah stormed back over to her cauldron. "My potion's done. I'm leaving now. Maybe you can get _Diana_ to help you with yours." She walked away without another word, leaving Akko feeling helpless and confused as to how things had gotten worse than detention.


	30. Day Thirty: Do We Really Have to Do This Again?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Hanakko Rescue Squad forces Akko and Hannah to own up to their feelings and sort out their BS

“Do we really have to do this again?" Amanda groaned. "Those dorks should be makin' sweet, sweet love by now. What the hell went wrong?”

Amanda, Diana, and Barbara—aka "the Hanakko Rescue Squad—were having a strategy meeting under the Jennifer memorial tree. They needed somewhere they wouldn't be interrupted, so Diana had cajoled from the professors permission to close down the greenhouse by telling them a white lie about controlling some noxious spores. Diana taking a liberal approach to the truth implied Amanda was rubbing off on her.

"Jealousy," Diana answered. "Given what little I could gather from Akko, it seems that Hannah had an explosive reaction to... a comparison with myself." She crossed her arms guiltily.

"Hannah's also felt a little insecure living in Diana's shadow," Barbara said. "She's not the only girl who feels that way. Add that factor to how close you are with Akko, and combine that with a short temper and it's a recipe for disaster."

"Wait, so she hasn't picked up on Akko's totally obvious crush on her?" Amanda raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? The whole clingy thing and the drooling all over her wasn't a hint? And here I thought Hannah knew all the cards at play."

Barbara frowned. "She wasn't sure when I talked to her last, but I thought she might've clued in after Akko reciprocated the flirting. I mean, Akko 'jokingly' said she wanted to tug on her ponytail in a more than friendly way. There's oblivious, and then there's _this_."

"Insecurity can overpower even the surest of feelings," Diana said plainly, as if she weren't speaking from experience. "The remedy to this matter seems to be no more complex than sorting out these communications errors."

Amanda clapped her hands together. "Alrighty then, What's the plan? We ambush them after class and lay down the law?" Amanda talking about the law that way implied Diana was rubbing off on her.

"This requires delicacy," Barbara said, rubbing her hands together. "This case requires the oldest trick in the book: divide and conquer."

*******

"Put me down, you lummox!" Akko yelled.

Amanda did as she was told. She plonked Akko down onto a chair she and Barbara had prepared in the dungeon storage room they'd spirited Akko away to. Before their quarry could escape, Barbara used a spell to restrain Akko to the chair.

"What's the big idea!?"

"That's what I'd like to know," Amanda. "Why the hell haven't you jumped Hannah's bones yet?"

"You really ought to," Barbara said. "That girl is frustrated as hell and she desperately needs a little release, you know."

"What are you talking about!?" Akko demanded, blushing furiously at the idea of giving Hannah _a little release._

"We're talking about you two being crazy for each other," Amanda said. "Why haven't you professed your undying love for her yet?"

"Y-you must have me confused with someone else," Akko replied. "I'm not—I don't like her like that!"

"We know you like her in the physical sense," Barbara said. "You stare at her so much she must be burned into your retinas by now."

"I'm just... appreciating my friend's good looks!" Akko said knowing full well how flimsy that excuse was. _I've done a little more than "appreciating" Hannah's body,_ she thought.

"Oh come on," Amanda said. "You smooched her all the way into next week. Did you do that as a friend too?"

"Wh-what's wrong with kissing a friend every once in a while?" That excuse was even flimsier.

"Oh no," Barbara said. "I know _exactly_ what she means." She laughed like her mean old self again. "Hannah's a hell of a kisser isn't she? I can see why you'd want a taste of that again."

Akko's eyes bugged out of her head. "What are you—"

"Hannah and I used to practice kissing," Barbara said smugly. "And a bit more. A little best friends with benefits action. How do you think she got that good? Natural talent? Pfft."

Amanda did a double-take. Akko suddenly felt hot, her stomach acid bubbling, her heart racing. "Th-that's—I don't want to hear that!"

"Why not?" Barbara asked, egging Akko on with the bitchiest voice in her repertoire. "We're just having a little shop talk. Tell me, when you two made out, did she do that thing with her tongue?"

Akko rocked back and forth on the chair in frustration. "Amanda, cover my ears! I don't want to listen to this!"

"Why not?" Amanda asked, catching on to Barbara's ploy. "Does hearing about someone else kissing Hannah bother you for some reason?"

"Yes!" Akko yelped. _Maybe if I admit it they'll make it stop,_ she thought.

"And why is that?" Barbara asked. "Tell the truth."

 _Oh, what does it matter. I just want her to stop talking._ "Because I like her! I want to be the only one kissing Hannah!"

At last she admitted it. To herself. She had a big, damn crush on Hannah. That was the only explanation for everything she'd been feeling

Amanda and Barbara applauded. "Bangin' confession," Amanda said.

"Best interrogation I've participated in this month," Barbara agreed.

"You know, there's supposed to be a good cop too, right? Not two bad cops?" Akko gave up. "You're going to tell Hannah aren't you?" Her captors nodded. "You might as well leave me here to rot. Hannah hates me."

"If Diana's on time, she should already know," Barbara said. "And I wouldn't be so sure about that. You've got a lot of "appreciating" in your future."

_*******_

"Hey, Diana? Do you know where Barbara is?" Hannah asked. She looked around their dorm room and failed to find her best friend.

Diana stood up and approached her roommate. "I apologize in advance for my crass behaviour."

"What do you—OW!"

Diana yanked on Hannah's ear. "You positively oblivious girl. You're smarter than this, Hannah." She let go.

"Bloody hell, Diana," Hannah yelped, holding her ear tenderly. "I'm definitely smarting now!"

"You are dangerously close to ruining your chances with Akko," Diana said sternly. "I understand that you have some... underlying insecurities, but you can't let them rule you like this. I think you're vastly overestimating my importance to Akko—"

"Really?" Hannah said, doing her best not to get upset. "Isn't perfect Diana Cavendish more important to everyone than I am!? After all, I'm the one who screwed things up for her. She has way more faith in you. You know it's true! You're the one who told me I had to compete with you!"

Diana shook her head. "You were never supposed to replace me. My intention was for you to earn her trust and learn that you hold a different place in Akko's heart. One that I will never fill."

"Wh-what do you mean?" _Is she suggesting...?_

"You know what I mean," Diana said. "Akko has feelings for you. They've been developing for a while now. Atsuko Kagari has a crush on Hannah England."

"Th-that's not possible!" Hannah's mind was spinning. _I wondered if maybe she did, but just hearing it like that is... How does Diana know!? Does everyone know!?_

"Akko excels at the impossible, I've found," Diana said with a slight smirk. "And is it not equally impossible for Hannah England to have a crush on Atsuko Kagari?"

 _It certainly doesn't feel that unlikely to me,_ Hannah thought. "So... Akko likes me? The way I like her?"

"I should think so," Diana replied. "After all, the two of you have been insufferably flirtatious as of late. Amanda is of the opinion that the two of you should, and I quote: 'get a room.' And to be frank, I agree." She raised an eyebrow. "What do you think?"

_*******_

"When you said we should get a room, this wasn't exactly what I had in mind," Hannah said.

"Hey, this is the coziest room in the dungeon!" Amanda said.

Diana coughed. "You're forgetting about the room adjoining the furnace."

"But that's our room, babe."

"I thought the torture session was over," Akko said, sorely wishing for earplugs.

Barbara grabbed Amanda and Diana by the elbows. "Wrap it up, lovebirds. These two can take it from here. And I've got a reading date with my own personal Belle." She dragged her co-conspirators from the room and closed the door behind them. Akko and Hannah were surprised not to hear the click of a lock.

"So," Akko said. "Any chance you could untie me?"

"No," Hannah answered. "I've got something to say, and it would help if you can't run away."

Akko squinted. "You're the one you stormed off last time we talked."

Hannah's conscience squirmed. "Fair enough." She pulled up a second chair that the Hanakko Rescue Squad had provided and sat down in front of her crush.

"I... I need to apologize for blowing up at you over Diana," Hannah said quietly. "I know she's an important friend to you. It's just that... sometimes being compared to Diana is more than I can handle. Especially when... when it comes from you."

"I can kind of relate to that," Akko said. "I kinda got jealous too. Over Barbara. That one time I ran off. And earlier... earlier today I got really riled up because Barbara and you... have a history."

"You know about that, huh?" Hannah bit her lip. _I was hoping that would be swept under the rug._

"Yeah." Akko felt nervous, but she pressed on regardless. "I have a lot of special memories with Diana just like you have a lot of special memories with Barbara." Not similar memories, but experimenting with you bestie had to feel a lot like using legendary magic together at the edge of space.

"We have a few special memories too," Hannah ventured. She played a mental reel of their greatest hits: Akko using her lap as a pillow, their prank war with Amanda, their experiences with the play, their truth or dare kiss, their heated make out session...

Judging by the crimson rising in Akko's cheeks, Akko was watching the same reel.

"Maybe we could... make a few more," Hannah said hesitantly.

Akko's heart skipped a beat. _Are Amanda and Barbara right? Could it be?_ "I..." Akko couldn't think of a clever transition to start talking about her feelings. So she didn't bother.

"I have a crush on you, Hannah."

Hannah was expecting a lot of things: an obfuscation, a rejection, anything but that.

"What a coincidence," she said. "Cuz... I have a crush on you too."

The two of them sat in stunned silence, unable to believe what had just happened. Their feelings were requited. It was difficult for them to fight off doubts. _Maybe I misheard her._ In the end, there was only one thing to do...

"So... what now?" Hannah asked.

Akko squirmed in her chair. "Untying me would be a good start."

Hannah gave it a moment of intense thought. "Okay, hear me out: what if I didn't?"

"Eh?"

Hannah stood up slowly. All it took was a single step to eliminate the distance between them. And then she lowered herself onto Akko's lap, straddling her and putting her arms around her crush's neck.

"H-Hannah!" Akko's brain stopped processing information. _There's no way this is happening!_

"Akko," Hannah said seductively. "How about we make another special memory right here, right now?"

All of Akko's neurons were firing but nothing was happening.

"What do you say, cutie pie?" Hannah asked, moving her hands to cup Akko's cheeks.

"I guess it couldn't hurt," Akko finally replied. "Okay but not to be picky, could you let your hair down first?"

Akko's request was uttered in a single breathless second, but Hannah managed to decipher it. She smiled with excitement. "Anything for you, Akko."

The second she had she ripped the ribbon from her hair, her mouth was on Akko's. This kiss was different from the others. Not the awkwardness of their first kiss, nor the impassioned, hungry kisses of their encounter in the closet. This kiss was loving and deliberate, intended to convey the full depth of their affection for each other. They savoured the moment with the full knowledge that they had all the time in the world for more.

Their lips parted and Hannah drew back to get a better view of her lover. She giggled as she played with the ends of Akko's hair, those odd asymmetrical bangs of hers that she found indescribably cute. Her hands trailed down Akko's chest, moving across her bust to outline her figure, progressing downward to rest on her thighs.

"You're enjoying yourself," Akko noted. She was too, for the record.

"I've always been fond of teasing you," Hannah said, kissing the tip of Akko's nose while she loosened Akko's collar.

"I mean, I'm not complaining..." Akko caught Hannah's lips in another kiss. She resisted the urge to squirm as Hannah's hands explored the landscape of her uniform, finding her ticklish spots with tantalizing accuracy. It quickly became a game to see how long Akko could hold out against Hannah's teasing fingers.

Akko lost when Hannah brushed her fingers against her neck, just above her collarbone. She reeled back with a screech-laugh hybrid. "That's just unfair!"

"Since when have I ever played fair?" Hannah asked. "Or for that matter, when have you?"

"Don't tell me you're still bitter over the broom relay."

"How about you make it up to me?" Hannah kissed her again, kicking the intensity up a notch. 

"Oh! That's the thing you do with your tongue!"

The longer they kissed, the greater the pressure in Akko grew. She was aching to return the favour to Hannah, to run her hands through that gorgeous auburn hair of hers, to learn all of Hannah's sensitive spots. Her kisses became urgent and demanding. She didn't leave Hannah any room for pause, overwhelming her until she broke off the kiss to marvel at Akko's change of pace.

"You've had your fun," Akko said breathlessly. "Can you please untie me now?"

Hannah smirked as she stroked Akko's hair. "Give me one good reason I should do that."

"Well, you can't get my shirt off if I'm still tied up."

"That, Atsuko Kagari, is a very good reason."


	31. Day Thirty-One: I've Waited So Long For This

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akko and Hannah are girlfriends now. And they canoodle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I've waited so long for this" perfectly sums up this super late chapter a week after Fictober ended ahlfaskjfsaldfhsdl

“I’ve waited so long for this,” Amanda declared.

"It has been a long time coming," Diana agreed, sipping her tea.

"My little girl's all grown up," Barbara said proudly.

"It's like a Shakespearean romance!" Lotte cooed.

"Is it just me, or are they happier about our getting together than we are?" Hannah asked her girlfriend.

"Seriously, cut the sarcasm," Akko said, pouting and crossing her arms. "They're just jealous of our love," she whispered. Hannah giggled in response.

The three couples were having a picnic on the school grounds, graciously saving the rest of the school from dealing with their collective insufferable flirting. Akko and Hannah's friends had been giving the girls grief every time they publicly displayed their affection. Not that it was enough to keep Akko and Hannah from holding hands at every opportunity.

"Those two are going to be insufferable during the field trip," Amanda said with feigned disdain.

"Wait, what field trip?" Akko asked.

"The astrology class field trip," Diana answered. "We'll be camping overnight to observe the conjunction of Venus and Jupiter. Professor Ursula told us in class, were you not paying attention?"

"It wouldn't matter anyway," Hannah sighed. "Finnelan specifically told me that Akko and I aren't allowed to participate. She thought it would be inappropriate given... well, you know, how she caught us that one time." Finnelan had a lot of thoughts about Hannah's relationship with Akko, which Hannah told her she could stuff... somewhere unpleasant. She didn't do them any favours.

"What!?" Akko groaned. "It sounds like fun."

"It isn't supposed to be fun," Diana said. "It's supposed to be educational."

"Oh I don't know about that," Amanda said salaciously. Diana wasn't able to keep a straight face even as she smacked her girlfriend on the arm.

"Maybe you can appeal to Professor Ursula," Barbara suggested. "After all, she has a soft spot for Akko."

"I wanna camp with my girlfriend!" Akko said. "I'm sure she'll understand!"

*******

"I don't understand," Croix said. "You're throwing away a golden opportunity here, kiddos."

"We weren't asking you, reprobate," Hannah said. "We were asking Ursula."

"Ursula, why can't we go on the field trip tonight?" Akko gave her mom away from home her best pair of puppy dog eyes.

Ursula fidgeted. "Well, um, although it would be a valuable learning experience, I'm afraid Professor Finnelan was adamant about you girls not being allowed to join us."

Akko and Hannah groaned. Not only would they be missing out on a fun experience with their friends, they were also missing out on the chance to do a little more canoodling.

Croix cackled. "And here I thought you girls were clever. You two should be thanking that old hag."

"And why should we be thanking Finnelan?" Hannah demanded. "What's so fun about the two of us sleeping in our own beds while everyone else is out camping?"

"And who says _both of you_ have to be sleeping in your own beds?" Croix asked, smirking.

"Wait, what?" Akko exchanged a glance with her girlfriend. "Are you suggesting...?"

"Your roommates are going to be out on the grounds all night with their eyes glued to telescopes," Croix said. "No prying eyes should you two want to get up to any _canoodling_." She winked.

Such insinuations were embarrassing enough from their peers, but from their teachers!? "P-p-professor Ursula! Are you going to let that ex-con talk like that?"

Ursula was unable to make eye contact with either of her students. "Yes, don't listen to anything she said. I'll have to... reprimand her later..." She chuckled darkly under her breath. Croix began squirming nervously.

Neither Akko nor Hannah knew what was going on between their teachers, nor did they want to know. Furthermore, the last thing either of them would do was forget about what Croix had suggested...

*******

Akko knocked on the door of the Blue Team's room before she could chicken out. She was shivering, and not only out of anticipation. The t-shirt and shorts she used as sleepwear didn't do much to fend off the cold.

Hannah wasted to time in opening the door. She pulled Akko into the room and closed the door again before anyone could be clued into their secret rendezvous.

"I guess that Croix was good for something," Hannah said, grinning.

"I'll say." Akko's attention was being siphoned away by the sight of Hannah in her nightgown. Hannah always let her hair down when she slept, but she would've done it just for Akko.

Hannah winked. "See anything you like?"

"Should I list them in alphabetical order or by most favourite to least favourite?"

"Alphabetical."

Akko paused. She didn't actually have any answers prepared. "Um, your arms, your eyes, your face, your hair... um..."

Hannah covered her mouth with a kiss. "I was just kidding. But since you're giving it so much thought, I expect a five hundred word essay about how great I am on my desk by Monday."

Akko laughed. "You're worse than Finnelan."

"You're going to regret that!" Hannah launched herself at Akko and tickled her at all the sensitive spots she discovered during their lovefest in the dungeon. Akko tried to escape by vaulting over Hannah's bed, but got caught halfway over and Hannah tickled her into submission. She didn't stop until tears came out of Akko's eyes. 

"You're so unfair!" Akko wailed. "I hate you!"

Hannah pretended to be wounded. "My lovely Akko hates me? How will I go on?" She flopped down on her bed, clutching her chest and covering her face with her hand, almost covering her grin.

"Oh, don't be a baby." Akko lay down next to her girlfriend and nuzzled her neck. "You know that I really, really, really like you."

Hannah giggled. "I know." She played with Akko's stubby ponytail. "What do you like about me?"

Akko opened her mouth but she couldn't come up with answer. "I've never thought about it." She never questioned why she liked Hannah. After all, she spent so much time denying that she did.

She eased onto her back and said the first thing that came to her mind. "Well, you're pretty."

"Lots of girls are pretty though," Hannah replied.

"You're pretty like... fireworks! That's it! You're like, BAM, amazing!" Akko made exploding gestures with her hands. "You're just like, WOW, y'know what I mean?" Akko looked at Hannah expectantly.

"I think I get the picture," Hannah said.

"And you're really nice," Akko added. "Except when you're being sassy, which is pretty cool too." Hannah had become much more chill about her sassiness (or perhaps bitchiness) as of late. "And you're really clever. That kinda reminds me. We should prank Amanda again."

"We do really owe her something special after all the grief she's put us through," Hannah agreed. "Even if some of it helped us get together." She took Akko's hand and brushed her lips against the other girl's knuckles.

"Hey, I was really sore after being tied up tight and stuck sitting on a hard chair for like an hour," Akko complained. "I could barely sit down after all of that."

"I thought that was my fault, not Amanda's," Hannah said.

"HANNAH!" Akko blushed furiously. Hannah had been exceedingly gentle with her, but the thought of a more intense night with her lover flustered Akko, especially given that she was lying on Hannah's bed at the moment...

"You're so cute, Akko," Hannah giggled. "It's hard to believe there was ever a time when I didn't see that. You're so expressive and you have so much energy. It's totally adorable. Whenever you're passionate about something, it's a delight to just watch you do your thing."

"Do you know what I'm most passionate about?" Akko asked.

"What?"

"You!" Akko pecked her on the lips.

"No way, you're way more passionate about magic than you are about me." Hannah pretended to be offended again.

"No! I'm totally more into you than I am into magic!"

"You like Shiny Chariot way more than you like me," Hannah said. She grinned. "Maybe I should get one of those performing outfits and you'll pay more attention to me..."

Akko put her hand to her mouth to make sure she wasn't drooling from that mental image. "I mean, it definitely wouldn't hurt..."

Hannah giggled. "I'll consider it. Come to think of it, what drew your attention to me in the first place?"

"Well, we started having some antics together," Akko began, "I figured I should try being friends with you because you're close with Diana, even if you were a bit of a meanie pants at the time."

"You wanted to befriend a 'meanie pants'?"

"Maybe I like a challenge," Akko joked. "I gotta keep myself busy, right?"

"Oh so that's how it is?" Hannah rolled on top of Akko. "In that case I'll have to keep you on your toes."

She was about to begin another merciless tickling attack, but Akko beat her to the punch. "If you say so, _sweetheart_ ," she whispered in Hannah's ear.

"Eek!" Hannah had her own weakness, as Akko had discovered; she absolutely melted whenever she was referred to with a term of endearment. Especially when it was whispered directly into her ear. She blushed and tried to get away before Akko could do it again.

"Not so fast, sweetie." Akko hugged her tightly.

"Again, you're the worst!" Hannah couldn't even pretend to be angry.

She expected Akko to continue horsing around, but instead she found herself snuggled by her girlfriend.

"All out of steam?" Hannah asked.

Akko mumbled an affirmative into her neck. "I'm sleepy. You tickled all my energy out."

"What a grievous mistake," Hannah said. Naturally she wanted to do a little more than sleep, but sleep sounded pretty damn good too. "We'll have to take a rain-check on the hardcore canoodling."

"I just want to hold you and be here with you, babe," Akko mumbled.

"Eek! You're going to make me melt all over my sheets if you keep that up!"

Hannah pulled the covers over herself and Akko and used her wand to turn off the lights. Akko squeezed her gently and buried her face in her long, silky hair, murmuring sweet nothings. A soft warmness filled Hannah's chest as she drifted off to sleep, secure in the arms of her beloved girlfriend. All thoughts of needing anything more that night had dissipated. She had never been more content.


End file.
